Word of the day – お任せ (omakase)

omakase in the Japanese script

I came across today’s word on Amazon’s Affiliates site today. They use it as the name of a widget which displays products based on Amazon’s understanding of your site, the visitors to your site and the page you place it on. They say it means “leave it up to us”.

お任せ (omakase) is a Japanese word that means “entrust” or “protect”. It’s used mainly in Japanese restaurants, where customers might say “お任せお願いします” (omakase onegaishimasu), which you could also translate as “Chef, I’m in your hands”. When they say this, they are asking the chef to select and prepare food for them in a manner of his choosing. The chef also decides how much to charge. This usually results in a very good meal at a reasonable price as the chef will feel obliged to create a worthy meal out of the freshest foods he has, to reward and retain a valued customer’s trust in him.

One thought on “Word of the day – お任せ (omakase)

  1. You can use 任せる in less-formal circumstances too. If your friend is busy and has many things to do, you can offer to ease their burden with 任せてね – “leave it to me”. My dictionary gives the sentence: どういう経路をとるかは彼女に任せた – “I left it up to her which route we should take.”

Comments are closed.