Meanings
plural perillas
- countableuncountableAn East Asian herb with flavorful leaves used in cooking and as a garnish, Perilla frutescens. Also grown for the seeds, which contain an edible and industrially-useful oil.
The smell of burnt flesh, which the perilla seeds couldn't wholly mask, pricked my nose.
2015, Han Kang, translated by Deborah Smith, The Vegetarian, Granta, published 2018, page 42Synonyms: beefsteak plant, shiso
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn East Asian herb with flavorful leaves used in cooking and as a garnish, Perilla frutescens. Also grown for the seeds, which contain an edible and industrially-useful oil.
Origin
- taxonomic namePerilla
- taxonomic namePerilla
- Englishperilla
Borrowed from taxonomic name Perilla.
More words from taxonomic name
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan alfàbrega japonesa
- alfàbrega japonesaEast Asian herb
Chinese Cantonese 紫蘇 /紫苏
- 紫蘇 /紫苏 (ji² sou¹)East Asian herb
Chinese Mandarin 紫蘇 /紫苏
- 紫蘇 /紫苏 (zǐsū)East Asian herb
Finnish veripeippi
- veripeippiEast Asian herb
French perilla, pérille
- perillaEast Asian herb
- périlleEast Asian herb
- pérille de NankinEast Asian herb
Japanese 紫蘇
- 紫蘇 (shiso)East Asian herb
Korean 들깨, 깻잎
- 들깨 (deulkkae)East Asian herb
- 깻잎 (kkaennip)East Asian herb
Russian пери́лла, судза́
- пери́лла (perílla)East Asian herb
- судза́ (sudzá)East Asian herb
Vietnamese tía tô
- tía tôEast Asian herb
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with perilla
Cite this entry
perilla. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/perilla
“perilla.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/perilla. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “perilla,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/perilla.
Source: perilla on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.