shiso

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable or uncountable

   a leafy Japanese herb with a minty, slightly spicy flavor, used to season or garnish food.

   Grammar: Uncountable for the herb in general: some shiso; countable for leaves or plants: three shiso leaves.

   Patterns

   • shiso leaves
   • a sprig of shiso

   The sushi chef wrapped each piece in a fresh shiso leaf.

   She grows shiso on her balcony for summer salads.

   A little shiso adds a bright, clean taste to noodles.

2. 2nouncountable or uncountable

   the plant that produces this herb, grown in green and red varieties.

   Grammar: Used for the plant in gardens: the shiso grew quickly.

   Patterns

   • red shiso
   • green shiso

   Red shiso gives pickled plums their purple color.

   The shiso spreads quickly if you leave it alone.

   The gardener planted shiso beside the basil.

Common combinations

shiso leaf

Wrap the fish in a shiso leaf.

red shiso

Red shiso is used to color pickles.

green shiso

Green shiso often garnishes sashimi.

fresh shiso

Fresh shiso loses flavor if stored badly.

shiso tempura

We ordered shiso tempura as a starter.

Synonyms and how they differ

perilla

Perilla is the botanical name for the plant, while shiso is the usual name in cooking, especially Japanese cooking.

beefsteak plant

Beefsteak plant is an older English name for the red variety, less common than shiso now.

basil

Basil is a different herb with a sweeter taste, though shiso is often compared with it.

Word family

perilla noun

the plant genus including shiso

umeboshi noun

pickled plum, often colored with red shiso

herb noun

a plant used to add flavor to food

Commonly confused: shiso or basil?

Practice

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Write a sentence using “shiso”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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