おつまみ

お

つ

ま

み

Meanings

1

snack to have with a drink; side dish

polite (teineigo)usually written using kana alone

Polite form of つまみ, commonly used for small dishes served with alcohol, such as at izakaya. Also used more broadly for any light snack or side dish.

See also: つまみ

ビールのおつまみに枝えだ豆まめを頼たのんだ。
I ordered edamame as a snack with my beer.
このお店みせのおつまみはどれも美味おいしい。
All the side dishes at this restaurant are delicious.

See all 29 example sentences ›

Kanji

摘pinch, pick, pluck
抓pick, pinch, summarize
撮snapshot, take pictures

Related words

当あてN2
おつまみ is the standard Japanese word for a snack eaten with alcohol, while 当て is the Kansai dialect term for the same thing.
肴さかな
おつまみ is the polite, common shop/menu word for drinking snacks, whereas 肴 sounds more old-fashioned or literary and covers non-food 'entertainment' as well.

Written forms

Applies to each form listed below

rarely-used kanji form

お摘つまみ
Rare kanji form; it is rarely used.
お摘つまみ
Rare kanji form; it is rarely used.
お抓つまみ
Rare kanji form; it is rarely used.
お撮つまみ
Rare kanji form; it is rarely used.

Etymology

Polite prefix お- added to つまみ, the noun form of 摘む (つまむ, 'to pick up with fingers'), referring to finger food.