What's the difference between 上手い, 美味い, 旨い, and 巧い?


All four of these words are read as うまい and have the same meaning in my
dictionary so I was wondering, can these four words (上手い, 美味い, 旨い, and 巧い) be
used interchangeably?




These can be divided into two large categories.

  * 上手い ≒ 巧い ≒ good at something, skillful 

> 彼女は料理がうまい。 She is good at cooking.

  * 美味い ≒ 旨い ≒ delicious, yummy 

> この料理はうまい。 This dish is delicious.

The difference between 上手い and 巧い is much smaller, but 上手い is "good" in
general, while 巧い is closer to "technical" or "skillful".

The difference between 美味い and 旨い is even more trivial, and they're basically
interchangeable. But I feel that so-called
[_umami_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umami) tends to be described using the
kanji 旨 more often, while 美味い refers to good taste in general. When うまい is
used figuratively (eg うまい話 "sweet deal"), 旨い is preferred, too.

Finally, these are all "customary" readings mainly found in blogs, novels and
such. They are not "textbook" readings listed in 常用漢字表, so you can (or
_should_ ) stick to hiragana (うまい) in formal writings.




These can be divided into two large categories.

  * 上手い ≒ 巧い ≒ good at something, skillful 

> 彼女は料理がうまい。 She is good at cooking.

  * 美味い ≒ 旨い ≒ delicious, yummy 

> この料理はうまい。 This dish is delicious.

The difference between 上手い and 巧い is much smaller, but 上手い is "good" in
general, while 巧い is closer to "technical" or "skillful".

The difference between 美味い and 旨い is even more trivial, and they're basically
interchangeable. But I feel that so-called
[_umami_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umami) tends to be described using the
kanji 旨 more often, while 美味い refers to good taste in general. When うまい is
used figuratively (eg うまい話 "sweet deal"), 旨い is preferred, too.

Finally, these are all "customary" readings mainly found in blogs, novels and
such. They are not "textbook" readings listed in 常用漢字表, so you can (or
_should_ ) stick to hiragana (うまい) in formal writings.

