寿司

Japanese

Kanji in this term
寿	司

Alternative forms

• 鮨, 鮓

Etymology

From 酸し (sushi, “sour”), the archaic し (shi) terminal-form conjugation of modern 酸い (sui, “sour”).

Historically, sushi was originally a form of fish that had been salted and fermented for preservation without refrigeration. The fish was sometimes packed with rice or rice mixed with vinegar in order to speed the fermentation process. In the Edo period, this was also known as hayazushi (早鮨, 早鮓) when packed in layers, pressed, and fermented for just one night. Something similar is still prepared today as narezushi (馴鮨, 熟鮨) that relies on fermentation with no added vinegar.

The kanji spellings for sushi are ateji.

Pronunciation

• IPA: [sɯᵝɕi]

Noun

寿司 (shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai 壽司, hiragana すし, romaji sushi)

1. sushi: vinegared rice served with fish or vegetables, etc.

Derived terms

Derived terms

握り寿司 (にぎりずし, nigirizushi): sushi, hand-shaped sushi 巻き寿司 (まきずし, makizushi): rolls, sushi rolls, maki 押し寿司 (おしずし, oshizushi): soft-pressed sushi topped with ingredients ちらし寿司 (ちらしずし, chirashizushi): decorated sushi topped with ingredients 回転寿司 (かいてんすし, kaiten sushi): conveyor belt sushi 寿司店 (すしてん, sushiten): a sushi shop, a sushi restaurant

Proper noun

寿司 (hiragana ひさし, romaji Hisashi)

1. A male given name

See also

• Appendix:Japanese sushi terms

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Mandarin

simpl.		寿司
trad.		壽司

Noun

寿司 (simplified, Pinyin shòusī, traditional 壽司)

1. sushi