Sushi Names in Japanese

Love sushi?

If you’ve landed on this site, it’s a pretty safe bet that the answer’s yes!

Wanna learn how to order your favourite sushi in Japanese?

Check out this awesome infographic showing some of the most popular sushi names in Japanese:

Thanks to Wafu Blog for the cute visual guide 🙂

We’ve also listed the above ingredients, plus several other essential sushi words, in text format below.

Use it as a quick reference in the sushi bar, or copy and paste the vocab into your flashcard app.

First of all, the fish:

Japanese	Romaji	English
あじ	aji	horse mackerel
えび	ebi	shrimp
はまち	hamachi	young yellowtail
ほたて	hotate	scallop
いか	ika	squid
いくら	ikura	salmon roe
いわし	iwashi	sardine
かにかま	kanikama	crab stick
まぐろ	maguro	tuna
たこ	tako	octopus
さば	saba	mackerel (generic term)
さけ	sake	salmon
たい	tai	sea bream
うなぎ	unagi	eel (freshwater)

Secondly, here are some non-fish sushi fillings and toppings that you might come across:

Japanese	Romaji	English
アスパラガス	asuparagasu	asparagus
アヴォカド	abokado	avocado
きゅうり	kyuri	cucumber
なっと	natto	fermented soybean curd
せんぎりにんじん	sengiri ninjin	carrot julienne
しそ	shiso	Japanese basil
しいたけ	shiitake	shiitake mushroom
たまごやき	tamagoyaki	Japanese omelette
てんぷら	tempura	tempura
うずら の たまご	uzura no tamago	quail egg

And don’t forget these things to garnish your sushi!

Japanese	Romaji	English
がり	gari	pickled ginger
しょうゆ	shouyu	soy sauce
わさび	wasabi	wasabi paste

Finally, something to wash it all down with…

Japanese	Romaji	English
あがり	agari	green tea (sushi bar kind)
ビール	biiru	beer
にほんしゅ	nihonshu	Japanese rice wine (sake)

Ready to hit an authentic Japanese sushi restaurant? Here’s a sneak peek at what you can expect!

See if you can recognise any of the fish names (or other words you’ve learned) in this clip:

There you go! Ready to get your sushi fix.

If you want to learn more about how to order in restaurants in Japan, check out our recommended Japanese course.

Mata ne!