What does oshii mean? Japanese? おしい！惜しい！
This “oshii（惜しい：おしい）” is a word that often appears in Japanese conversation.
It is used in casual and formal situations, regardless of gender and age.
Especially if you are studying Japanese, you should remember not to confuse this word with the word “oishii” which means “delicious”.
Let’s take a closer look at “oshii”.
What does “oshii" mean?
The meaning of this word is as follows:
1. It was so close!
(You are feeling sorry because things something ended up not realizing as you expected)
2. There is something precious and you don’t want to lose it. You don’t want to waste what you value.
3. There is something you can’t forget and you regret it.
Examples of “oshii"
First of all, the followings are examples of how to use “oshii”.
“Mou sukoshi de yuushou dattanoni! Oshii!”
「もう 少し で 優勝 （ゆうしょう）だったのに！惜（お）しい！」
We were so close to winning it! What a shame!
“Anata no joshu ni shite okunoni wa oshii jinbutsu da.”
「あなた の 助手（じょしゅ） に して おくのには 惜（お）しい 人物（じんぶつ）だ。」
It is such wasteful to keep that person as your assistant. (He/she would be more capable)
“Neru jikan ga oshii.”
「寝（ね）る 時間（じかん） が 惜（お）しい。」
I don’t want to spare time to sleep.
“Inochi ga oshii.”
「命（いのち） が 惜（お）しい。」
Life is very dear to me.
“Konomama kare wo nogasu no wa oshii.”
「このまま 彼（かれ） を 逃（のが）すのは 惜（お）しい。」
It is regrettable to let him getaway.
“Kare wa oshiminaku kane wo tsukau.”
「彼（かれ） は 惜（お）しみなく 金（かね） を 使（つか）う。」
He spends money liberally.
“Nagori wo oshimu.”
「名残（なごり） を 惜（お）しむ。」
Feeling reluctant to part from somebody
“Oshiku mo shiai ni yaburete shimatta.”
「惜（お）しく も 試合（しあい） に 敗（やぶ）れて しまった。」
Regrettably, we lost the game.
“Oshige mo naku jouhou wo ataeru.”
「彼（かれ）は 惜（お）しげ も なく 情報（じょうほう） を 与（あた）えた。」
He generously gave the information.
Pay attention to “oshii"！
And this is something that you should remember.
The sound of “oshii” is similar to that of “oishii（美味しい：おいしい）”.
“Oishii” means “delicious”.
So if your Japanese friend cooks for you or you have an opportunity to have a meal with Japanese and you want to express that the meal is delicious, you should pronounce “oishii” properly without getting confused.