塩気(しおけ)

塩気(しおけ) is saltiness — how salty something tastes, or how much salt it contains. It belongs to the kitchen and the dinner table: this is the word for saying a soup needs more salt.

Formation: 塩(しお) 'salt' + 〜気(け), a suffix meaning 'a trace or presence of.' The same suffix gives 水気(みずけ) 'moisture' and 油気(あぶらけ) 'greasiness.'

Collocations

• 塩気(しおけ)が足(た)りない: not salty enough
• 塩気(しおけ)が強(つよ)い: too salty
• 塩気(しおけ)を控(ひか)える: to cut down on salt
• 塩気(しおけ)のある: having some saltiness to it

Similar words

• 塩味(しおあじ): salty flavour. Closest to 塩気(しおけ), but it names the flavour as such, where 塩気(しおけ) is more about how much salt is present.
• 塩分(えんぶん): salt content as a measurable quantity. This is the word of nutrition labels and medical advice — a doctor tells you to reduce your 塩分(えんぶん), a cook tastes the 塩気(しおけ).