Sushi Vocab

Learn some new sushi vocabulary or brush up on terms you already know.

Ama-ebi: sweet shrimp

Ebi: shrimp

Gari: pickled ginger slices

Hamachi: yellowtail

Hana: flower

Hirame: fluke

Hokki-Gai: surf clam

Hotate: sea scallop

Ika: squid

Ikura: salmon roe, or fish eggs

Inari: thin, fried, seasoned tofu with rice inside

Kani: king crab

Kanimi: imitation crab meat made from white fish

Kanpyo: gourd

Kappa: cucumber

Maguro: tuna

Maki Sushi: “Roll” sushi, typically rice rolled in seaweed with various ingredients inside

Masago: smelt roe

Nigiri Sushi: fish slices on top of a small ball of rice

Nori: thin, dried seaweed used to wrap the rice

Oshinko: pickled radish

Saba: mackerel

Sashimi: sushi-grade fish without rice

Shiitake: mushroom

Shouga: pickled ginger slices

Sushi: any dish made with vinegared rice

Tako: octopus

Tamago: omelet

Temaki Sushi: handrolls where sushi is rolled into an ice-cream cone shape

Tombo: dragonfly

Unagi: fresh water eel

Uni: sea urchin

Click here for answers to some frequently asked questions about sushi.