mirin

IPA/ˈmɪr.ɪn/
IPA/ˈmɪr.ɪn/

mirin — noun

1. a sweet liquid seasoning used in Japanese cooking, made by fermenting rice. It c

1.nounB2
Definition

a sweet liquid seasoning used in Japanese cooking, made by fermenting rice. It contains very little alcohol and is added to dishes to give a mild sweetness and make them look shiny.

Example

Kenji added a splash of mirin to the stir-fry for a hint of sweetness.

collocation: a splash of mirin

Sofie bought a bottle of mirin at the Asian grocery store near her apartment.

Common collocations
  • a splash of mirin
  • a bottle of mirin
  • a tablespoon of mirin
  • mirin + soy sauce
  • mirin glaze
  • mirin marinade
  • sweet mirin
  • mirin-based sauce
Synonyms
  • sweet rice wine

    a general descriptive term; 'sweet rice wine' can also refer to other drinks (e.g. Chinese láo zāo or Japanese amazake), so mirin is more precise

Grammar Patterns

uncountable

mirin + noun (as modifier)

Usage Note

Mirin is distinct from sake — sake is a drinking rice wine with higher alcohol content, while mirin is specially made for cooking and has a higher sugar content. Mirin is uncountable in most contexts (some mirin, a splash of mirin), though you may hear a mirin in reference to a brand or type.

Common Mistakes

I drank a glass of mirin with dinner.
I used a splash of mirin in the stir-fry.
Mirin is a cooking ingredient, not a beverage. Unlike sake, it is not meant to be drunk.

Word family

  • mirin-glazed
    adjectiveC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Mirin is one of several Asian cooking liquids that learners often confuse. Sake is a Japanese rice wine meant for drinking, with higher alcohol (15-20%) and less sugar — it is sometimes used in cooking but is not interchangeable with mirin's sweet, syrupy character. Rice vinegar is sour rather than sweet, and its acidity serves a completely different purpose. Sweet rice wine is a broader category that includes mirin but also Chinese láo zāo and Korean yakju. Shaoxing wine is a Chinese fermented rice wine used in stir-fries and braises; it is savoury and dry rather than sweet. When a recipe specifies mirin, the sweetness and gloss are essential — substituting dry sake or vinegar changes both flavour and texture.

sake ↗rice vinegarsweet rice wineshaoxing wine

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • a splash of mirin
  • a dash of mirin
  • a tablespoon of mirin
  • a bottle of mirin
  • mirin-based sauce
  • mirin and soy sauce

Prepositions

  • of mirin
  • with mirin

Etymology

JapaneseEnglish

Mirin comes from Japanese 味醂 (mirin), where the character 味 (mi) means 'taste' or 'flavour', and 醂 (rin) refers to a sweet type of sake. The word entered English cookbooks and grocery vocabulary in the mid-20th century as Japanese home cooking became more widely known outside Japan.

First known use

1874

1874, in the meaning defined above