蕎麦
soba[so̞ba̠]
The Japanese term for buckwheat noodle is 蕎麦 (soba).
The word 蕎麦 refers to both the buckwheat noodles themselves and the prepared dish made from them. It is the most common and widely understood word for this food. When ordering a simple soba dish served in a broth, the word kake is used to describe it.
How do you pronounce it?
soba
Did you know?
- The English word 'buckwheat' and the Japanese word soba share a similar origin, as both refer to the angular shape of the seed or nut.
- The kanji used for 蕎麦 is a bit of a misnomer, as it combines the character for 'buckwheat' with the character for 'wheat', even though buckwheat is not a type of wheat.
Examples in context
- お蕎麦は美味しいですね。The buckwheat noodles are delicious, aren't they?
- 今日は、蕎麦を食べようよ！Let's eat buckwheat noodles today!
- そばに天ぷらをトッピングしてください。Please add tempura as a topping to my buckwheat noodles.
- 蕎麦をいただきます。Soba o itadakimasu.I will eat the buckwheat noodles.
- この蕎麦はとても美味しいです。Kono soba wa totemo oishii desu.This buckwheat noodle is very delicious.
- 冷たい蕎麦が食べたいです。Tsumetai soba ga tabetai desu.I want to eat cold buckwheat noodles.
Example conversation
Kenta and Himari are deciding what to eat for lunch.
- 健太 Kentaランチに蕎麦はどうですか？Ranchi ni soba wa dou desu ka?How about buckwheat noodles for lunch?
- 陽葵 Himariいいですね！蕎麦にしましょう。Ii desu ne! Soba ni shimashou.That sounds good! Let's have buckwheat noodles.
- 健太 Kenta近くに美味しい蕎麦屋がありますよ。Chikaku ni oishii soba-ya ga arimasu yo.There is a delicious buckwheat noodle shop nearby.
- 陽葵 Himari健太さん、そこへ行きましょう！Kenta-san, soko e ikimashou!Kenta, let's go there!
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 蕎麦, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 蕎麦, CC BY-SA 4.0.
