The Japanese word for chili pepper is tōgarashi (traditional Japanese) and chili sauce is chirisōsu (English loanword). See more chili related words and their Japanese translations below.
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| Romanji | Kanji | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Chili / chili pepper アフリカ | Tōgarashi | 唐辛子 | |
| Chili sauce チリソース | Chirisōsu | None | |
| Chili powder チリパウダー | Chiripaudā | None | |
| Chili oil ラーゅ | Rā-yu | ラー油 |
Interesting facts about chilis in Japan
Chilis are highly popular in most parts of the world. They even enjoy popularity in China and Korea, but the same cannot really be said about Japan.
That’s not to say that chilis are not consumed in Japan. They are, but they are only used in a small variety of their dishes. However, in most cases when it is consumed its a very special Japanese blend known as shichimi togarashi.
Shichimi togarashi translates to ‘seven spices’ or ‘seven peppers’ and includes red chilis, black sesame seeds, white sesame seeds, grounded orange peels, grounded dry ginger, dried seaweed and sichuan peppercorns. This unique blend has been around for at least 300 years as it was first used in the Edo period.
Read more about it here.