How to correctly pronounce 'wasabi'

While I don't look Japanese and at five foot ten I pretty much defy any possibility of being Japanese, I am indeed half Japanese.  Raised by a native speaker, I grew up in America hearing the correct pronunciation of many commonly used Japanese words: futon, tofu, sushi, wasabi, etc.  The interesting part is as a child, I didn't always connect the American pronunciation with the Japanese word.  For example, my camp counselor in fourth grade was nicknamed "Tofu" pronounced in America as Toe-foo.  The correct pronunciation is To-u-fhoo.  The "fhoo" part is more a quick breath out.  The children at camp teased me because I didn't know what tofu was and many didn't believe I was actually Japanese!

This lovely game has continued into my adult life; most surprisingly with the name of my blog Wasabi Nights.  When I first named the blog and mentioned it to people, they didn't understand what I meant.  I would raise my eyebrows in surprise and say "Wasabi.  It's the green paste you eat with sushi."  The response was always the same: "oh, you mean wasabi!" 

Confused?  I was, until I realized my correct pronunciation was incorrect for American vernacular.  Wasabi is correctly pronounced "wa-sa-bee."  It's pronounced in an elegantly, quick manner.  Wa! Sa! Bi!  Americans however pronounce it "wu-saaaw-bee" and heavy on the "wasssup" part. 

I had to practice over and over saying it the American way to help avoid confusion!  The way I remember is to think of those silly Budweiser "Wassuuuuup!" commercials back in 1999.  However, when I am tired or am distracted; my mental homing device kicks in and I forget the American pronunciation and have to ask someone how to pronounce it.  People always look at me as if I have lost my marbles.

So, today's post (while I work on writing up some of the amazing interviews I have done this week with successful men), is about educating you so I no longer have to mangle my culture's language!

How can this help you look your best?  When enjoying sushi or when dining with the Japanese, you can impress and show respect by saying "please pass the wasabi (wa! sa! bi!)."

-Lisa Bruckner Trunk Club Expert

Comments

[Martin Lindeskog]

Lisa,

I am getting hungry now! Where do I find the best "Wa!Sa!Bi!" in your area?

[Lisa Bruckner]

LOL! To be truthful, I haven't found any truly good Japanese food in my area. I am still waiting...

[Joe]

Love the site and will recommend it to a few friends (even bought the Tommy John T-shirt) but tofu the word and food stuff come originally from China where 豆腐 would now be translated as dòu fu and means 'bean curd'. The T for Tofu comes from an obsolete romanization system for the characters. This should help explain why the Japanese translation was not linking up with the American translation.

[Lisa Bruckner]

Thanks Joe for the helpful linguistics lesson!

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You seem to have got the niche from the root, Awesome work

[BEACH21Anne]

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The food is beautiful, I am not very mind.