The Japanese word for soup is shiru (traditional Japanese) and sūpu (English loanword). See a translation of different soup types in the next section.
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| Romanji | Kanji | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Soup (traditional Japanese) しる | Shiru | 汁 | |
| Soup (English loanword) スープ | Sūpu | None | |
| Soup stock/broth Dashi is a soup stock/broth that forms the backbone of various Japanese dishes such as soups and ramen dishes. だし | Dashi | 出汁 | |
| Clear soup Suimono is a clear soup made up of a stock soup, a main ingredient, and two garnishes – one for color and the other for aroma. すいもの | Suimono | 吸物 | |
| Miso soup A dashi stock soup with softened miso paste added to it. みそしる | Misoshiru | 味噌汁 | |
| Meat udon A popular Japanese soup consisting of thinly sliced beef on top of udon noodles in a delicious broth. にくうどん | Niko Udon | 肉うどん | |
| Chicken hot pot A delicious Japanese hot pot consisting of kombu dashi broth with chicken, mushrooms, tofu and vegetables. みずたき | Mizutaki | 水炊き | |
| Pork soup ぶたじる | Butajiru | 豚汁 | |
| Vegetable soup けんちんじる | Kenchinjiru | けんちん汁 |
Interesting facts about soup in Japan
Soup is an important and common part of the Japanese diet and has been so for a very long time. Also, there is an inexhaustible list of different types and you’ve probably at least heard of the two most popular ones – dashi and miso.
Dashi is best described as a Japanese stock soup that forms the base for various other Japanese soup dishes such as broth, miso, and ramen soups. Miso soup, which happens to be the most popular type in Japan, has been around since the Kamakura period (1185 – 1333) where it was used as military food by samurai warriors during the civil war. However, it didn’t become popular among commoners until the Edo period (1603 – 1867) when miso shops started appearing in Edo (Tokyo).
Read more about Japan’s favorite soup here.