Ohashi (2010) said that there are 220 Japanese taste expressions. Seto (2003) classifies these abundant Japanese taste expressions by a “taste words classification list” and categorizes it to 37 different kinds of expressions.
Perhaps it is possible to classify taste expressions from languages other than Japanese by using Seto’s list. Additionally, it is to be expected that different taste expressions exist in other languages, but what type of expressions are there and how do people use them?
Therefore, I investigated taste expressions in Korean as used by 60 native Korean speakers. This study is an analysis based upon their responses. In this study respondents write freely what kind of Korean expressions are possible to express the taste of about 240 foods. Below I illustrate the result of this investigation. In this investigation, I received different taste expressions of 460 kinds (total number of answers 11,447). I organized them according to category after having classified these 460 kinds of taste expressions by “the taste words classification list” of Seto.
Out of all the responses, the use of “synesthesia expressions” was outstanding. The vast majority of respondents used synesthesia expressions (60.5%), which were also the major of expressions answered (53.2%). Following this, 25% of respondents utilized “taste expressions” which became 16.4% of total responses. Next was “several evaluation” used by 8.8% of respondents, becoming 16.3% of total responses. Examining my data through the lens of William’s “one-directional hypothesis (1976)”, regarding the metaphor of synesthesia, there are many expressions of “the sense of touch → taste”. However, much of the data cannot support this hypothesis. In this analysis I analyzed examples that did not support the one-directional hypothesis.
The following two points became clear in this investigation: First, both the number and the kinds of expressions to express taste are different when comparing Korean and Japanese expressions. Second, plural metaphor expressions of synesthesia exist in Korean but not in Japanese. I created three new categories for Korean expressions that did not fit into the table of Japanese expressions.
In this study, I aim at the elucidation of a universal principle based on the physiologic universality of human beings in their taste expressions and in the individual elements of each language by clarifying a similarity and a difference of taste expressions between languages, hoping that these similarities and differences can be used as much as possible in future.

日本語には味を表す表現が220種存在するとされる(大橋他編(2010))。この豊富な日本語の味表現を??(2003)では「味言葉分類表」によって分類し、37種にカテゴライズしている。
それでは日本語以外の言語についても、この??の表によって分類できるのだろうか。また日本語にはない味表現がどの程度存在するのだろうか。そこで本?究では、韓?語母語話者６0名に?し調査を行いその結果に基づき考察した。
この調査では240の食品についてどのような表現があり得るのかを自由に書いてもらった。その結果、460種(回答?11、447)の韓?語の味表現を得た。そしてこれらの味表現を??(2003)の表により分類した後「カテゴリ?」別にまとめたところ、種類?、回答?とも「共感?表現」が飛び?けて多く(53.2%·60.5%)、次いで「味?表現」(25%·16.4%)、「一般評?」(8.8%·16.3%)が多いという結果を得た。共感?表現の??を見ると「??→味?」の表現が最も多い。これは「共感?的比喩の一方向性??」に?う例であるが、その一方で??に?わない例も一定?存在する。本稿ではこの??の反例に注目して分析を行った。
この調査で明らかになった点は次の2点である。日本語と韓?語の味表現を比較すると?も種類も異なり、例えば韓?語においては日本語にはない共感?的比喩表現が複?存在する。さらに、??(2003)の分類表では分類できない表現が韓?語において存在するが、新たに3つのカテゴリ?を設けることで整理が可能となる。