[Brain fodder] Wasabi, bubbles and buzzwords
Edward Lipsett /t
Yesterday, someone brought a package of ワサビーフ into the office... Beef
"chips" kind of thingies with wasabi flavor. The bag says in big letters, 辛
さ５倍.
So I asked... Do Japanese really refer to wasabi as karai? My informal
survey (n=4) resulted in "no" (4) "yes" (0), with comments including (1)
but my elementary school daughter does and (2) we usually say ツンとくる or
きいている.
Interesting, I thought, but I guess if they don't really have a word that
fits wasabi, why not use karai?
OK, two questions came out of all this:
1. Why don't they have a word corresponding to karai, for use with wasabi?
2. Does English?
Special bonus question:
One of them asked me how we describe the sensation when you're drinking a
Coke and the fizz gets up in the back of your noise and drives you crazy...
Which is also, apparently, often karai in Japanese...
Anyone?
----------
Edward Lipsett, Intercom, Ltd.
translation€@intercomltd.com
Publishing: http://www.kurodahan.com
Translation & layout: http://www.intercomltd.com
Nora Stevens Heath
> 2. Does English [have a word like "karai" for wasabi]?
I remember this question coming up when my toddler (2 1/2), who had his
first taste of the stuff a month or so ago, called it "spicy". I didn't
think that was accurate, and settled on "piquant". "Pungent" might also
do if one is not particularly fond of wasabi. ;)
> One of them asked me how we describe the sensation when you're drinking a
> Coke and the fizz gets up in the back of your noise and drives you crazy...
> Which is also, apparently, often karai in Japanese...
I've heard soda (especially cola) described as karai and never
understood how anyone could consider it "spicy". Seeing your
description of the phenomenon, though, I kind of see how. I don't think
we have a word for it in English, though. Maybe just "fizzy"?
Nora
--
Nora Stevens Heath <no...@fumizuki.com>
J-E translations: http://www.fumizuki.com/
Edward Lipsett /t
> I remember this question coming up when my toddler (2 1/2), who had his
> first taste of the stuff a month or so ago, called it "spicy". I didn't
> think that was accurate, and settled on "piquant". "Pungent" might also
> do if one is not particularly fond of wasabi. ;)
Not bad... The thesaurus says:
Piquant - having an agreeably pungent taste
spicy, zesty, savory, savoury
tasty - pleasing to the sense of taste; "a tasty morsel"
All of which is in the right ballpark, but doesn't even com close to
describing what you feel after you scarf down a piece of ika sushi made by
an enthusiastic sushi chef....
>> One of them asked me how we describe the sensation when you're drinking a
>> Coke and the fizz gets up in the back of your noise and drives you crazy...
>> Which is also, apparently, often karai in Japanese...
Ah. Back of your NOSE, yes? Sorry 'bout that.
> I've heard soda (especially cola) described as karai and never
> understood how anyone could consider it "spicy". Seeing your
> description of the phenomenon, though, I kind of see how. I don't think
> we have a word for it in English, though. Maybe just "fizzy"?
I can't remember what I used to say back when we would challenge each other
to down a quart bottle of freezing cold Coke in one breath... Different
life.
Fizzy is what I would say now, but I'm sure I used something more, uh,
colorful, then.
Doreen Simmons
>>> One of them asked me how we describe the sensation when you're drinking =
>a
>>> Coke and the fizz gets up in the back of your noise and drives you crazy=
>...
>>> Which is also, apparently, often karai in Japanese...
Doreen Simmons
jz8d...@asahi-net.or.jp
Edward Lipsett /t
> Tickly?
Heh... After you've chugged a quart of freezing Coke slush on a hot summer
day, "tickly" doesn't even come close... But it'd work on the occasional
mistaken snort!
Carl Freire
>So I asked... Do Japanese really refer to wasabi as karai? My informal
>survey (n=4) resulted in "no" (4) "yes" (0), with comments including (1)
>but my elementary school daughter does and (2) we usually say ツンとくる or
>きいている.
>Interesting, I thought, but I guess if they don't really have a word that
>fits wasabi, why not use karai?
>
>OK, two questions came out of all this:
>1. Why don't they have a word corresponding to karai, for use with wasabi?
Well, they do. ツンと来る or きいている :-) The more interesting
(=theory building) way of phrasing that question might be, why do
some sensations get described with an adjectival and others with a
verb-based phrase in Japanese?
>2. Does English?
I hear "spicy," though that usually gets followed with something like
"but not a peppery kinda 'spicy.' More like a horseradish or mustard
thing that explodes in your nose. Thanks for the napkins, dude.
Could you get me a fresh beer?" :-) If you're looking for
exactitude, you've come to the wrong place--perhaps someone else . .
. ?
>Special bonus question:
>One of them asked me how we describe the sensation when you're drinking a
>Coke and the fizz gets up in the back of your noise and drives you crazy...
>Which is also, apparently, often karai in Japanese...
>
>Anyone?
As Nora has suggested, "fizzy," but again it gets followed by various
clarifying expressions.
FWIW.
Carl
--
**********
Carl Freire
cfreire /[@]* ix.netcom.com
Tokyo, Japan
Edward Lipsett /t
> The more interesting
> (=theory building) way of phrasing that question might be, why do
> some sensations get described with an adjectival and others with a
> verb-based phrase in Japanese?
OK, you're on... Any napkin scribbles to share?
Karen Sandness
On Mar 17, 2009, at 8:32 PM, Edward Lipsett /t wrote:
>
> OK, two questions came out of all this:
> 1. Why don't they have a word corresponding to karai, for use with
> wasabi?
>
> 2. Does English?
>
I'd call it just plain "hot," or maybe "sharp."
> Special bonus question:
> One of them asked me how we describe the sensation when you're
> drinking a
> Coke and the fizz gets up in the back of your noise and drives you
> crazy...
> Which is also, apparently, often karai in Japanese...
>
Fizzy or bubbly.
Gitaigoly yours,
Karen Sandness
Marc Adler
> I'd call it just plain "hot," or maybe "sharp."
Don't forget the minty-ness of Colgate, which kids don't like at
first. This sensation is roundly denounced as "karai" by my kids,
which they translate as "spicy" without batting an eyelash, as is
over-fizzy soda. Anything that is over-stimulative of the mouth gets
labeled as "karai." I think we just don't have a single word in
English that covers all of karai's lexical bases.
--
Marc Adler
www.adlerpacific.com
Edward Lipsett /t
>
> Anything that is over-stimulative of the mouth gets
> labeled as "karai." I think we just don't have a single word in
> English that covers all of karai's lexical bases.
That would fit with things like 塩辛い and 醤油辛い, certainly... Somehow it
seems to me this is the sort of situation where they should have half a
dozen kanji, all pronounced karai, with subtly different meanings.
But they don't, and I feel cheated!
Edward Lipsett /t
> Don't forget the minty-ness of Colgate, which kids don't like at
> first. This sensation is roundly denounced as "karai" by my kids,
A NJS here promptly added this, which to my meliken ears sounds much more
appropriate than karai, actually:
全部まとめて「キター！！」で表現されそう。
flyingkiwi
Minty toothpaste - too "strong"?
Fizz - got a "punch" or a "kick"?
"Eye-watering" for mint toothpaste, wasabi and fizzy drinks?
Must get out door and stop putting off horrible visit to horrible local
Immigration to get horrible re-entry stamp. Must gag self and not make
any kara-kuchi or kitsui comments to galactic emepror-wannabe type who
told me last week that it was impossible to advise me how to pass
through immigration with my son's two Japanese friends, as it was
"unthinkable" that Japanese parents would entrust their little underage
ato-toris to travel overseas with a foreigner...
Regards
Helen H, whose 2 year old once downed an entire gob of wasabi off an
airline meal tray while she was putting the baby in the skycot. I'm
afraid his response wasn't verbal enough to be enlightening.
S Zaveloff
> Anything that is over-stimulative of the mouth gets
> labeled as "karai." I think we just don't have a single word in
> English that covers all of karai's lexical bases.
>
It is also used for salty.
--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steven H. Zaveloff gua...@gmail.com
P.O. Box 200203 Tel: (512)219-7142
Austin, Texas 78720-0203 Fax: (512)233-2770
http://members.capmac.org/~stevenzaveloff/
Thus shall you think of this fleeting world:
A star at dawn, a bubble in a stream;
A flash of lightning in a summer cloud;
A flickering lamp, a phantom, and a dream.
-Diamond Sutra
Laurie Berman
On Mar 17, 2009, at 9:32 PM, Edward Lipsett /t wrote:
> 1. Why don't they have a word corresponding to karai, for use with
> wasabi?
Maybe it isn't worthwhile to invent an adjective that only applies to
one noun?
> 2. Does English?
I guess I would go with "sharp," but since that's also used for
cheddar cheese, I wouldn't claim that it describes the specific
sharpness of wasabi. (However, I seem to recall that the French say,
"il monte au nez," which is pretty descriptive.)
Laurie Berman
Nora Stevens Heath
> 全部まとめて「キター！！」で表現されそう。
Which can be expressed in English by a variation on "Aw, yeah--there it
is" or "There we go". ちょうどいいじゃん！
Laurie Berman
On Mar 17, 2009, at 10:45 PM, flyingkiwi wrote:
> Dry wine is is rarely "spicy" in English.
My impression is that 辛い and 甘い are regarded as opposites, and
as a result, 甘い can be used to mean "not 辛い," and 辛い can
sometimes be used to mean "not 甘い"--which is how I interpret 辛口.
Laurie Berman
Michael Hendry
>> Anything that is over-stimulative of the mouth gets
>> labeled as "karai." I think we just don't have a single word in
>> English that covers all of karai's lexical bases.
>
> It is also used for salty.
Whereas "salty" is a taste that doesn't need further explanation in English.
Salt is salty...
Also, "hot" is very versatile in _my_ lexicon, just like karai. Wasabi is
hot, some toothpaste is hot. Soft drinks are fizzy and salt is salty (or
savory?).
Michael Hendry, in Newcastle Australia
mt_scratch
> Yesterday, someone brought a package of ワサビーフ into the office... Beef
> "chips" kind of thingies with wasabi flavor. The bag says in big letters, 辛
> さ５倍.
>
> So I asked... Do Japanese really refer to wasabi as karai? My informal
> survey (n=4) resulted in "no" (4) "yes" (0), with comments including (1)
> but my elementary school daughter does and (2) we usually say ツンとくる or
> きいている.
> Interesting, I thought, but I guess if they don't really have a word that
> fits wasabi, why not use karai?
>
> OK, two questions came out of all this:
> 1. Why don't they have a word corresponding to karai, for use with wasabi?
>
使っています。
もっと適当なのは、「わさびが効いている／効く」だと思います。
桜内実
M. Sakurauchi
Edward Lipsett /t
> My impression is that 辛い and 甘い are regarded as opposites, and
> as a result, 甘い can be used to mean "not 辛い," and 辛い can
> sometimes be used to mean "not 甘い"--which is how I interpret 辛口.
Very nice!
In retrospect I have to admit I've noticed this myself numerous times, but
never got around to actually articulating it.
Thanks!
Edward Lipsett /t
> Also, "hot" is very versatile in _my_ lexicon, just like karai. Wasabi is
> hot,
Ah... Well, I'd never say that. To me hot is a peppery taste that stays in
your mouth, not your nose. (Well, I suppose you could snort jalapenos if you
really wanted to, but I'll pass...)
Joshua Margulies
> Also, "hot" is very versatile in _my_ lexicon, just like karai. Wasabi is
> hot,
On Wednesday, March 18, 2009 12:01 PM, Edward Lipsett wrote:
>Ah... Well, I'd never say that. To me hot is a peppery taste that stays in
>your mouth, not your nose. (Well, I suppose you could snort jalapenos if
>you
>really wanted to, but I'll pass...)
Would you say "wasabi rush?" It's in the urban dictionary.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=wasabi%20rush
Cheers,
Josh Margulies
Derek Lin
>
> Edward Lipsett wrote:
>
> > 全部まとめて「キター！！」で表現されそう。
>
> Which can be expressed in English by a variation on "Aw, yeah--there it
> is" or "There we go". ちょうどいいじゃん！
Or "OMGWTFLOL!!", which would probably be closer in tenor. ;-)
Edward Lipsett also wrote:
>
> Somehow it seems to me this is the sort of
> situation where they should have half a dozen kanji,
> all pronounced karai, with subtly different meanings.
Maybe it's the fault of the ancient Chinese for not inventing the
respective kanji. But I guess you can't blame them: I really doubt
wasabi was central enough in ancient Chinese life to necessitate a
word just to describe its taste. Did they even have wasabi in ancient
China?
Or maybe they do (for the different types of kara-sa), and the
Japanese didn't import them. Besides, if the taste of wasabi was
unique enough, they could just refer to it through the noun, as in
わさびが効く.
Or maybe the yamato-kotoba of "karai" just doesn't make conceptual
distinctions between the various "omg this thing is doing *what* to my
mouth?"s. As long as it was "too much 刺激 in a wrong way" it was からい,
and who cares what the type or source is?
Also, mustard is カラシ, which would have been the 終止形 of からい in
classical Japanese. I haven't read anything one way or another about
them being etymologically linked, but it sure looks possible to me.
There, I'm out of napkins.
--
Derek Lin
Carl Freire
>Or maybe the yamato-kotoba of "karai" just doesn't make conceptual
>distinctions between the various "omg this thing is doing *what* to my
>mouth?"s. As long as it was "too much 刺激 in a wrong way" it was からい,
>and who cares what the type or source is?
Exactly. Even though からい does not map completely onto "spicy"
since the perception of what foods, drinks, and other tangible
phenemona have those respective qualities--the specific applications
of which are based to a certain degree on cultural
preconceptions--the similar broad-based haziness attached to each
nevertheless suggests that sometimes it's useful to have catch-all
descriptions.
I'm not sure if that sentence scans completely, but I'm standing by it :-)
>Also, mustard is カラシ, which would have been the 終止形 of からい in
>classical Japanese. I haven't read anything one way or another about
>them being etymologically linked, but it sure looks possible to me.
I've always mentally assumed that they are related, and also that
someone who knows more than me would eventually tell me if I'm
remarkably intuitive or sadly misguided. Just on this point, mind
you--don't want anyone getting any ideas.
As for different descriptive terms--adjectival vs. verb-based
(perhaps a false contrast, since arguably even "karai" is a complete
sentence)--surely there must be an article or book somewhere that
runs down what kinds of sensations get which sort of term. Bonus
points to that as-yet unknown-to-me author if s/he somehow connects
that difference to Foucault or Bourdieu.
Cheers,
Carl@"Discipline and Punctuation" anyone?
Steven P. Venti
Edward Lipsett /t <trans...@intercomltd.com> wrote:
> So I asked... Do Japanese really refer to wasabi as karai? My informal
> survey (n=4) resulted in "no" (4) "yes" (0), with comments including (1)
> but my elementary school daughter does and (2) we usually say ツンとくる or
> きいている.
Since I'm a day late and a dollar short on this topic, I'll just say ご
参考まで、but it would appear that sometimes NSJ don't agree among
themselves. (Big surprise, huh?)
http://soudan1.biglobe.ne.jp/qa3582141.html
http://mobile.cocoroe.jp/e/9605
http://www.hoodo.jp/ikiiki/goods_id-00770077.html
All of which just makes me curious if there is any regional variation to
account for.
FWIW
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Steven P. Venti
Mail: spv...@bhk-limited.com
URL: http://www.bhk-limited.com
Blog: http://spventi.wordpress.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------
William Taylor
commercial.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=td_-syaHl2M
Whassup B,
William Taylor
Derek Lin
>
> but it would appear that sometimes NSJ don't agree among
> themselves. (Big surprise, huh?)
-snip-
> All of which just makes me curious if there is any regional variation to
> account for.
Or generational.
Count this as another napkin scribble, but I think somewhere in the
minds of (educated) Japanese people there is this idea that わさびが効く is
the "right"/preferable expression -- maybe it was taught in school or
written in 教科書 or 参考書 by 偉い人。 But outside of situations where you have
to be careful with your use of language, the young just say what they
do -- and apparently, からい works.
--
Derek Lin
Sayaka Nakai
and sweet is amai.
It is confusing for native Japanese speakers, too.
We who live in Eastern Japan use shoppai for 塩辛い, but it is not a
standard Japanese.
I remember how I was confused when I learned HOT in English means
taste AND temperature. Hot soup is karai or atsui?
Sometimes it is funny how we can live with 全部キターtype words.
Sayaka
On Mar 18, 7:14 pm, Derek Lin <lin.der...@gmail.com> wrote:
> 2009/3/18 Steven P. Venti <spve...@bhk-limited.com>:
William Sakovich
idea that わさびが効く is the "right"/preferable expression ..But outside of
situations where you have to be careful with your use of language, the young
But--and this goes for countries everywhere--will those same young people
still be using the same expression in 10-15 years, or will they have grown
up enough to use the "right" expression after prolonged exposure to the
adult world?
- BS, a top quoter
Derek Lin
>
> But--and this goes for countries everywhere--will those same young people
> still be using the same expression in 10-15 years, or will they have grown
> up enough to use the "right" expression after prolonged exposure to the
> adult world?
And will the young in 10-15 years still be using からい, or will another
term be in currency then?
I recognise where you are coming from. And I guess only time will tell.
--
Derek Lin
Mika Jarmusz
themselves. (Big surprise, huh?)
How did you come to that assessment?
Stevenさんのリンクはどれも、みんな「辛い」で一致してるじゃないですか。
「効く」とか「鼻に来る」とかも言いますが、「ピリッと辛い」「ツーンと辛い」も迷うことなく臆すことなく恥じることなく堂々と使っちゃえばいいのでは？
http://soudan1.biglobe.ne.jp/qa3582141.html
http://mognavi.jp/food/223076
http://mobile.cocoroe.jp/e/9605
Mika Jarmusz 清水美香
English to Japanese Translator
http://inJapanese.us
Makoto Sakamoto
www.tvi.jp/announcer/board/index14.html
Shinya Suzuki
> My impression is that 辛い and 甘い are regarded as opposites, and
> as a result, 甘い can be used to mean "not 辛い," and 辛い can
> sometimes be used to mean "not 甘い"--which is how I interpret 辛口.
IMHO, the above characterization of 甘い-辛い as polar opposites on
one and the same scale is applicable to only a small number of
situations such as below.
1) 甘口-辛口 scaling of 日本酒 or 白ワイン（but not 赤ワイン）
2) metaphorical 甘い（甘口）-辛い（辛口） scaling for 評価, コメント,
etc. E.g., 甘い評価- 辛い評価
In most other situations, the opposite of 甘い is not 辛い, and vice
versa. E.g., not-甘い イチゴ is NOT 辛いイチゴ.
Two major reasons for this are:
a) Taste psychophysics/physiology indicates that no two tastes out of
the four [or five] basic tastes (sweetness, bitterness, sourness and
saltiness [and umami]) can be characterized as "opposites."
b) 辛味 (pungency, etc.) is something totally different from any of
the basic tastes.
See e.g., http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taste
http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%91%B3%E8%A6%9A
Shinya Suzuki
Steven P. Venti
> Stevenさんのリンクはどれも、みんな「辛い」で一致してるじゃないですか。
Not so. The <http://soudan1.biglobe.ne.jp/qa3582141.html> is a
discussion in which several NSJ express differing opinions.
The last three links are just examples of advertising copy. The point
being that while many NSJ say that they would not say わさびが辛い, the
collocation does exist in advertising copy.
Laurie Berman
On Mar 18, 2009, at 10:07 AM, Shinya Suzuki wrote:
> IMHO, the above characterization of 甘い-辛い as polar opposites
> on
> one and the same scale is applicable to only a small number of
> situations such as below.
>
> 1) 甘口-辛口 scaling of 日本酒 or 白ワイン（but not 赤
> ワイン）
Not 赤ワイン? So how does one express sweet vs. dry for 赤ワイ
ン?
Anyway, I think you're forgetting about カレ− and countless other
foods that offer varying degrees of spiciness. Certainly 甘い is the
opposite of 辛い in those contexts. Now, I think you could argue
that this is a distinct use of the word 甘い, meaning "mild" as
opposed to "sweet." But the kanji is, after all, the same, and my 20-
odd years of married life with a Japanese chef have led me to the
conclusion that the two concepts are not always distinct in people's
minds. Words influence how we think.
I will grant you that, other than the cases you cited, there seem to
be few contexts in which 辛い means 甘くない. But this might
just be because there are few contexts in which there's a need to
express 甘くない in a positive way.
> Two major reasons for this are:
>
> a) Taste psychophysics/physiology indicates that no two tastes out of
> the four [or five] basic tastes (sweetness, bitterness, sourness and
> saltiness [and umami]) can be characterized as "opposites."
FWIW, I don't think that science has much to do with antonym pairs.
In English, both sour and bitter are considered antonyms of sweet,
and that's that. If you ask a NES child the opposite of "dog," he/she
would probably say "cat." It's cultural, not scientific.
Laurie Berman
Wendy E
On Mar 17, 9:53 pm, Nora Stevens Heath <fumiz...@gmail.com> wrote:
"Pungent" might also do if one is not particularly fond of wasabi. ;)
Although in a non-culinary context, "pungent" may have a negative
connotation, it is frequently used to describe
certain herbs, spices, and other foods without such shading.
The culinary definition at dictionary.com is: "sharply affecting the
organs of taste or smell, as if by a penetrating power"
The following from an article about Ayurveda and diet mentions some
"pungent" foods.
The Six Tastes of Ayurveda (FROM: http://www.ayurbalance.com/explore_articlesixtastes.htm)
In ayurveda, foods are classified into six tastes (rasas)--sweet,
sour, salty, bitter, pungent and astringent. Many foods have more than
one taste--Amla, the Indian Gooseberry, for example, contains five of
these six tastes: all except salty, and turmeric contains three--
bitter, pungent and astringent. Ayurvedic healers recommend that you
include all of these six tastes at each main meal you eat. Each taste
has a balancing ability, and including some of each provides complete
nutrition, minimizes cravings and balances the appetite and digestion.
The general North American diet tends to have too much of the sweet,
sour and salty tastes, and not enough of the bitter, pungent and
astringent tastes.
:
Here is a sampling of foods in each of the taste groups:
:
Pungent (tikta): Chili peppers, ginger, black pepper, clove, mustard,
radish, white daikon
:
Wendy Ebersberger
J-E Technical translation
Chika Kamiya
Shinya Suzuki
> > 1) 甘口-辛口 scaling of 日本酒 or 白ワイン（but not 赤
> > ワイン）
>
> Not 赤ワイン? So how does one express sweet vs. dry for 赤ワイ
> ン?
I was talking about what back labels on bottles of (inexpensive) wine
say rather than expressions of actual tastes.
Webcite: http://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q1211129057
赤ワインのタイプはライトボディ～フルボディといい、白ワインは甘口～辛口
といいますが、なぜこのように赤と白で異なった言い方をするのでしょうか？
・・・
最初にワインが一般化するようになった７０年代での使い方がそのまま踏襲さ
れてますね。・・・
Shinya Suzuki
Jonathan Merz
Also, just idle musing, but can't help but notice that the 甘い・辛い opposition rather reminds me of the ancient distinction between 赤い and 青い. Those two used to refer not specifically just to "red" and "blue," but to bright/red-scale/"hot" colors versus subdued/grey-scale/"cool" colors, respectively, before arriving at their more limited modern meanings. I wonder if 甘い and 辛い had a similar history? For instance, 甘い meant originally something like "not sharp to the tongue; mild and pleasant-tasting," whereas 辛い meant "sharp to the tongue, biting, stimulating." Then, with the passage of time, the meaning of 甘い settled into its current, more limited meaning (辛い seems to still retain a fairly wide semantic range).
My electronic 日本国語大辞典 seems to back me up here - the entry for 甘い starts:
一 味覚に関していう。⇔辛（から）い。
１砂糖や蜜など糖分の味がある。
＊書紀（７２０）「甘（アマく）味はひを食（みをしし）たまはじ。
２塩気が薄い。辛くない。
＊人麿集（１１C前か）下「流れあふ湊の水のうまければかたへもしほはあまきなりけり」
Food (adjectives) for thought.
Jonathan Merz
ジョナサン・メルツ
Chris Norman
Indeed there's a CM doing the rounds on TV at the moment for another
brand of mouthwash which advertises itself as being "辛くない."
Chris Norman
On Apr 11, 12:00 pm, Jonathan Merz <jonathan.c.m...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Forgive me for dredging up a slightly old thread, but I'm curious: what
> expression would the NJS in here use to describe the sensation caused by
> powerful mouthwash, such as Listerine? In English, I myself would say
> something like "burning." 辛い sounds a bit off to my non-native ear, but
> OTOH it's somewhat akin to the feeling of wasabi (to me), which I think