—«« Sushi Encyclopedism »»—
Never found elsewhere...

Sushi Counting Jargons

The counting unit of sushi is "Kan" for nigiri sushi.
But it is unclear at all what is the 'kan' and the reason why it became to use.

Basic numeration:
Numeral adjective for sushi, for nigiri in particular, is 'Kan.' It is counted as one-kan, two-kans, three-kans..., which are corresponding in Japanese to hito-kan, futa-/ni-kan, san-kan... (No plural inflection in Japanese.) Regrettably no decisive and reasonable meaning of 'kan' is known at all today. (Some suggest that it relates to money/gold and/or weight unit.) For rolls, this adjective is seldom used but 2/3 of one uncut long thin roll (i.e. two cut-pieces) are regarded equall to one kan as a conversion.

Jargons for cardinal numbers:

No.	Cipher		i.e.
1	Soku, Yorozu	Pin	('pinta' [ = 1 ] from Portuguese)
2	Buri, No-no-ji	Ryan	('two/pair' from Chinese - Tang-reading)
3	Kiri, Geta		(wooden '*Geta*' shoe has 3 holes)
4	Dari		(came from packhorse driver's jargon)
5	Me, Me-no-ji, Garen		(Kanji character of 'Me' (eye) is written with 5 strokes)
6	Ron-ji, Ronoji
7	Seinan
8	Bando
9	Kiwa		(the edge (*kiwa*) of single digits)
10	Choh, Yorozu (, Pin)
100	Ninben
1000	Keta

Such terms are often varying much among restaurants, regions and/or districts.
Above is mainly for Tokyo areas.

Usage Examples:
When you visited a sushi restaurant with your colleagues, as soon as you entered the restaurant, the service would say 'Agari-Seinan.' This means that your group is seven persons and 7 'Agaris = Green teas' should be served.
After you finished your lunch or dinner at a sushi restaurant, you would say 'Check please,' then a sushi-chef in the counter would say (or shout) to the cashier that 'Soku-Dari' or 'Geta-Me.' This is a secret communication between them on how much you have eaten and what you have to pay, for not informing other customers there. Sometimes it is not a pleasant each other to hear or inform others of the price one has eaten.
Soku-Dari: 1 and 4 = Yen 1,400 or 14,000 (depending on when - lunch or dinner - and what you eat)
Buri-Kiwa: 2 and 9 = Yen 2,900 or 29,000
Geta-Me: 3 and 5 = Yen 3,500 or 35,000
The other day at a restaurant, 'Chon-Me' meant Yen 1,500 for a lunch.

Variation:

No.	Cipher	i.e.
11	Pin-pin, Pin-soku
12	Chon-buri, Soku-buri
13	Sokkiri	Soku-kiri
14	Soku-dari
15	Ano, Soku-garen
18	Soku-ban	Soku-bando
22	No-nara	Nonoji-nara[bi]
25	Yakko
35	Geta-me	Geta-menoji
45	Dari-garen
55	Me-nara	Menoji-nara[bi]

narabi = side by side/double

Another Well-known Method:
A Phrase in Japanese: 'A-ki-na-i no shi-ya-wa-se'
Meaning: The Happiness of the Business, or 商いの幸せ

Phonetic	A	Ki	Na	I	No	Shi	Ya	Wa	Se
Number	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9

Example:
A-no = 15 or 150
Ki-shi = 26 or 260

Sushi Jargon of Jargons

prev «— Menu —» next

Updated on: 2007.04.20
Created on: 2003.03.20