nigiri
nigiri — noun
1. a type of Japanese sushi in which a small handful of vinegared rice is shaped by
a type of Japanese sushi in which a small handful of vinegared rice is shaped by hand into an oval mound and finished with a slice of fish, seafood, or vegetable laid across the top.
Dahlia ordered six pieces of salmon nigiri at the sushi counter for lunch.
countable use: pieces of [topping] nigiri
The chef pressed warm rice in his palms and laid tuna across each nigiri.
describes how nigiri is shaped and topped
Andrei learned that nigiri should be eaten in one bite, fish-side down on the tongue.
Most sushi sets in Taipei include a mix of nigiri, rolls, and miso soup.
Takeshi prefers shrimp nigiri because the sweet topping balances the vinegared rice underneath.
- nigirizushi
the full Japanese term; less common in everyday English.
- hand-pressed sushi
descriptive English paraphrase used in menus and food writing.
文法句型
a piece of nigiri
nigiri topped with ...
用法筆記
Often treated as uncountable in general reference ("I love nigiri") but countable when ordering or counting pieces ("two pieces of nigiri", "two nigiri"). Frequently appears in compound form as [topping] + nigiri (salmon nigiri, tuna nigiri, eel nigiri).