うまい

Japanese

Alternative spellings
上手い巧い美味い旨い甘い味い (rare) 美い (rare) 甘美い (rare)

Etymology

From Old Japanese. Found in the Man'yōshū, completed some time after 759 CE.^[1] Sometimes reconstructed as Proto-Japonic *uma.

The ultimate derivation remains unclear. The term occasionally appears in texts from the Heian period (794–1185 CE) with the phonetic spelling mumashi (in the classical terminal form),^[2] suggesting a possible pronunciation of */mmasi/ with an emphasized initial /mm/ sound, similar to the reconstructed readings for 馬 (*mma, “horse”) and 梅 (*mme, “plum”). The resulting reconstructed adjective stem of *mma- could indicate a derivation from onomatopoeia; compare English mmm as an expression of approval for something tasty.

Alternatively, umai is listed in some sources^[3] as perhaps deriving from verb 熟む (umu, “to ripen, to become ripe”). There is a derived compound term where the meaning is clearly from the adjective, and the spelling uses the 熟 kanji from the verb. However, the verb does not appear in historical sources with an emphatic initial /mm/, and it seems to be cognate with 膿む (umu, “to fester, to fill with pus, to produce pus”, intransitive),^[4] possibly also with 生む, 産む (umu, “to bear, to give birth to; to produce”, transitive).

Reconstructed by Samuel Martin as Proto-Japonic *ma-.^[5]

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) うまい [ùmáꜜì] (Nakadaka – [2])^[4]^[6]^[7]
IPA^(key): [ɯ̟ma̠i]

Tokyo pitch accent of inflected forms of 「うまい」

Stem forms
Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary
Continuative (連用形)	うまく	うまくうまく	`[úꜜmàkù]` `[ùmáꜜkù]`
Terminal (終止形)	うまい	うまい	`[ùmáꜜì]`
Attributive (連体形)	うまい	うまい	`[ùmáꜜì]`
Key constructions
Informal negative	うまくない	うまくないうまくない	`[úꜜmàkùnàì]` `[ùmáꜜkùnàì]`
Informal past	うまかった	うまかったうまかった	`[úꜜmàkàttà]` `[ùmáꜜkàttà]`
Informal negative past	うまくなかった	うまくなかったうまくなかった	`[úꜜmàkùnàkàttà]` `[ùmáꜜkùnàkàttà]`
Formal	うまいです	うまいです	`[ùmáꜜìdèsù]`
Conjunctive	うまくて	うまくてうまくて	`[úꜜmàkùtè]` `[ùmáꜜkùtè]`
Conditional	うまければ	うまければうまければ	`[úꜜmàkèrèbà]` `[ùmáꜜkèrèbà]`

Adjective

うまい • (umai) -i (adverbial うまく (umaku))

上手い, 巧い: good at something, skillful
Synonym: 上手 (jōzu)

君(きみ)の日(に)本(ほん)語(ご)がうまいな。
Kimi no Nihongo ga umai na.
Your Japanese is good.

彼(かれ)はテニスがうまい。
Kare wa tenisu ga umai.
He's good at tennis.
美味い, 旨い, 甘い, 甘美い: delicious, tasty
Synonym: 美味しい (oishii)

飯(めし)がうまい。
Meshi ga umai.
The meal is delicious.
旨い: favorable, preferable, good
Synonyms: 好ましい (konomashii), 良い (ii)

うまいタイミングで訪(ほう)問(もん)する
umai taimingu de hōmon suru
to visit at a good time
旨い: profitable
株(かぶ)式(しき)仲(なか)買(がい)人(にん)とはうまい仕(し)事(ごと)ですよ。
Kabushikinakagainin to wa umai shigoto desu yo.
Being a stockbroker is profitable work.
(uncommon) 旨い: thoughtless, foolish, lackadaisical, slipshod, short-sighted
Synonyms: (more common) 甘い (amai), 愚か (oroka), 浅はか (asahaka)

Usage notes

This term is more common in masculine speech, and may have more casual connotations. The common gender-neutral and polite term for the skillful sense is 上手 (jōzu), and for the delicious sense, 美味しい (oishii).^[8]^[9]

Inflection

Inflection of うまい

Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形)	うまかろ	umakaro
Continuative (連用形)	うまく	umaku
Terminal (終止形)	うまい	umai
Attributive (連体形)	うまい	umai
Hypothetical (仮定形)	うまけれ	umakere
Imperative (命令形)	うまかれ	umakare
Key constructions
Informal negative	うまくない	umaku nai
Informal past	うまかった	umakatta
Informal negative past	うまくなかった	umaku nakatta
Formal	うまいです	umai desu
Formal negative	うまくないです	umaku nai desu
Formal past	うまかったです	umakatta desu
Formal negative past	うまくなかったです	umaku nakatta desu
Conjunctive	うまくて	umakute
Conditional	うまければ	umakereba
Provisional	うまかったら	umakattara
Volitional	うまかろう	umakarō
Adverbial	うまく	umaku
Degree	うまさ	umasa

Derived terms

うまい (umai) (熟寝, 熟睡, 味寝): a deep sleep, a refreshing sleep
うまいい (umaii) (味飯): tasty rice
うまうま (umauma) (旨旨): (baby talk) tasty, delicious; milk; the mother's breast
うまき (umaki) (味酒): delicious saké
うまくさい (umakusai) (旨臭い): smelling delicious; seeming favorable
うまくち (umakuchi) (甘口): sweet flavor (as of a wine or sauce, in contrast to dry or sour); convincing words, flattery
うまさ (umasa) (旨さ): deliciousness, tastiness
うまさけ (umasake), うまざけ (umazake) (旨酒, 味酒, 美酒): delicious saké
うまに (umani) (甘煮, 旨煮): sweet nimono (a kind of traditional Japanese simmered dish)
うまひと (umahito) (味人, 貴人): someone from a good family; a noble, an aristocrat
うまみ (umami) (旨味): taste, flavor; savor, savoriness; attractiveness, charm; profit
うまら (umara) (旨ら, 甘ら, 美ら): (archaic) delicious, tasty; pleasant, comfortable

References

^
c. 759, Man’yōshū, book 16, poem 3857:
, text here
^ “旨・甘・味・美”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
^ Gogen Allguide, entry here (in Japanese)
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
^ Samuel E. Martin (1987) The Japanese Language Through Time, New Haven, London: Yale University Press, →ISBN
^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
^ Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
^ Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN

[1] 
c. 759, Man’yōshū, book 16, poem 3857:
, text here

[KDJ2-2] “旨・甘・味・美”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006

[3] Gogen Allguide, entry here (in Japanese)

[DJR-4] 4.0 ^4.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[5] Samuel E. Martin (1987) The Japanese Language Through Time, New Haven, London: Yale University Press, →ISBN

[NHK-6] NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

[SMK5-7] Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[KDJ-8] Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

[DJS-9] Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN

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