お任せ

Japanese

Kanji in this term
任
まか Grade: 5
kun'yomi

Alternative spelling
御任せ

Etymology

Compound of 御 (o-, honorific prefix) +‎ 任せ (makase, “entrusting”), the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “stem form”) of verb 任せる (makaseru, “to entrust with something or someone, to leave (up) to something or someone”), itself the causative form of Old Japanese and Classical verb 任く (maku, “to order someone to do something; to appoint someone to a role or responsibility”).^[1]

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) おまかせ [òmákásé] (Heiban – [0])^[2]
IPA^(key): [o̞ma̠ka̠se̞]

Noun

お任(まか)せ • (omakase)

leaving something to someone else, especially the choice of a meal to a chef
専(せん)門(もん)家(か)におまかせする
senmonka ni omakase suru
to leave it to the experts

Descendants

→ Cantonese: 餓媽卡些 / 饿妈卡些 (ngo⁶ maa¹ kaa¹ se¹), 阿媽家姐 / 阿妈家姐 (aa³ maa¹ gaa¹ ze^2-1)
→ English: omakase
→ Korean: 오마카세 (omakase)

References

^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN