寿司

See also: 壽司

Chinese

For pronunciation and definitions of 寿司 – see 壽司 (“sushi”). (This term is the simplified form of 壽司).

Notes: Simplified Chinese is mainly used in Mainland China, Malaysia, and Singapore. Traditional Chinese is mainly used in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.

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Japanese

Etymology 1

A plate of maki-zushi, sushi rolled up in dried seaweed.

Kanji in this term
寿	司
す Grade: S (ateji)	し Grade: 4 (ateji)
on’yomi

Alternative spelling
壽司 (kyūjitai)

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

Originally, sushi was 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 are an example of ateji (当て字).

Alternative forms

• 鮨, 鮓

Noun

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

Usage notes

Sushi may be counted a number of ways:

• Using the generic つ (​tsu): 一つ (​hitotsu), 二つ (​futatsu)
• Using the generic 個 (​ko): 一個 (一個) (​ikko), 二個 (二個) (​niko)
• Using the counter かん or 貫 (​kan): 一貫 (一貫) (​ikkan), 二貫 (二貫) (​nikan)

Historically, かん or 貫 (kan) is a relatively recent innovation, appearing in the 1970s. In the Edo period when modern sushi first starts to appear, and all the way through the Meiji or Taishō periods, records only show the use of the generic つ (tsu) and 個 (ko) counters.

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 握(にぎ)り寿司(ずし) (nigirizushi): sushi, hand-shaped sushi
• 巻(ま)き寿司(ずし) (makizushi): rolls, sushi rolls, maki
• 押(お)し寿司(ずし) (oshizushi): soft-pressed sushi topped with ingredients
• ちらし寿司(ずし) (chirashizushi): decorated sushi topped with ingredients
• 回(かい)転(てん)寿(す)司(し) (kaiten sushi): conveyor belt sushi
• 寿(す)司(し)店(てん) (sushiten): a sushi shop, a sushi restaurant

Descendants

• Danish: sushi c
• English: sushi
• French: sushi m
• Indonesian: susyi
• Italian: sushi m
• Polish: sushi n
• Portuguese: sushi m
• Spanish: sushi m

 

See also

• Appendix:Japanese sushi terms

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
寿	司
ひさ Grade: S	し Grade: 4 (ateji)
nanori	on’yomi

Alternative spellings
壽司 (kyūjitai) 久紫 ひさ志 常 悠 央 久 尚四 寿志 昂

From classical adjective 久(ひさ)し (hisashi, whence modern 久(ひさ)しい (hisashī, “long-lasting, persisting for a long time”)).

Proper noun

寿(ひさ)司(し) • (Hisashi) 

1. a unisex given name