味噌
みそ
hepburn miso
miso (fermented soybean paste)
Part of speech · noun
Pattern visualization
Examples
- 味噌汁を飲みます。I drink miso soup.
- 白味噌は甘いです。White miso is sweet.
Collocations
味噌 (miso, miso paste)味噌汁 (miso shiru, miso soup)白味噌 (shiro miso, white miso — sweet)赤味噌 (aka miso, red miso — savory)味噌煮込み (miso nikomi, miso stew)
Mnemonic
味噌 miso — fermented paste of soybeans, kōji (rice mold), and salt — a traditional Japanese seasoning. Kanji "taste (味) + 噌 (mash)" — etymologically borrowed from Chinese 醤 (jiang) in the 7th century, then Japanized. Color/taste splits: 白味噌 (Kyoto-style sweet), 赤味噌 (Nagoya-style savory), 合わせ味噌 (blend). 味噌汁 anchors the daily 一汁三菜 (one soup + three sides) menu — the Japanese dinner-table prototype. One word compresses Korean-Chinese-Japanese fermentation history, regional cuisine, and daily-meal structure. Cluster: 醤油 (soy sauce), 酢 (vinegar), だし (dashi stock).
Quick check
Meal structure named by 一汁三菜?