Translation guide
Japanese pickles (tsukemono) are a broad category of preserved vegetables, often served as a side dish or condiment. The most common type is pickled daikon or cucumber, but many varieties exist. Unlike Western pickles, they are rarely sweet and are typically salty, sour, or fermented.
The learner wants to refer to Japanese pickles in general, as a food category.
The standard word for Japanese pickles. Refers to any vegetable preserved in salt, rice bran, miso, sake lees, etc. Often served with rice.
日本の漬物は種類が豊富です。
There are many kinds of Japanese pickles.
漬物を少し食べますか。
Would you like some pickles?
A polite, common term for simple, lightly pickled vegetables, often served in restaurants. Literally 'honorable fresh fragrance'.
定食にお新香がついています。
The set meal comes with pickles.
A traditional term for pickles, often used in kaiseki cuisine or formal contexts. Literally 'fragrant things'.
香の物はご飯に合います。
Pickles go well with rice.
The learner wants to name a particular kind of pickle, such as pickled plum or pickled radish.
Pickled plums (umeboshi). Very sour and salty, often red (from shiso leaves). A classic pickle served with rice or in onigiri.
梅干しは酸っぱいです。
Pickled plums are sour.
おにぎりに梅干しを入れます。
I put a pickled plum in the rice ball.
Pickled daikon radish, usually yellow and crunchy. A very common pickle, often served with Japanese curry or as a side.
Vegetables pickled in rice bran (nuka). Has a distinctive, slightly funky flavor. Common vegetables include cucumber, eggplant, and daikon.
Lightly pickled vegetables, not fermented long. Often made with salt, kombu, or yuzu. Crisp and refreshing.
Korean-style spicy pickled cabbage, very popular in Japan. Often considered a type of tsukemono.
The learner wants to refer to Western dill pickles or sweet pickles, not Japanese tsukemono.
The loanword for Western-style pickles, usually cucumbers pickled in vinegar and spices. Not used for Japanese tsukemono.
ハンバーガーにピクルスが入っています。
There are pickles in the hamburger.
ピクルスは酸っぱくて甘いです。
The pickles are sour and sweet.
In English, 'pickles' often refers to cucumber pickles in vinegar. In Japanese, ピクルス specifically means Western-style pickles. For Japanese pickles, use 漬物 (つけもの) or a specific name like たくあん.
Japanese pickles are not a main dish but a small side or garnish. They are often served in tiny portions. When ordering, you might say 漬物をください (Please give me pickles) or お新香つきですか？ (Does it come with pickles?).
たくあんは歯ごたえがいいです。
Pickled radish has a nice crunch.
ぬか漬けは毎日かき混ぜる必要があります。
Rice bran pickles need to be stirred every day.
浅漬けはすぐに食べられます。
Light pickles can be eaten right away.
Kimchi is spicy but delicious.