The closest English one could use is 'latent potential.' From the Japanese, aji, meaning taste, and in Go refers to the lingering quality that even dead stones will provide possible avenues of subtle play. Though aji might never be used, it has a bearing on the course of the game. Good aji is when your groups are strong, and have little or no possibility of being compromised. Bad aji is where dead stones or weaknesses in one's own formation carry a latent threat of compromising an existing area, should the situation become ripe. Aji is different from a simple defect or weakness in that it can be exploited and/or repaired in more than one way, or at more than one stage of the game, and which way or time is best will not be clear until later; hence the "aftertaste" metaphor.

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