豆

• Reading: まめ
• Romaji: mame
• Kanji breakdown: 豆 (mame/tou) — bean, pea
• Pronunciation: /ma.me/

Meaning

Beans; peas; legumes. A general term for various types of beans and pulses.

A noun covering a wide range of legumes including soybeans (大豆), adzuki beans (小豆), and green peas. Beans play a central role in Japanese cuisine, appearing in dishes like 豆腐, 納豆, and 煮豆. The word also appears in compounds like 豆知識 (trivia, lit. bean knowledge) and 豆まき (bean-throwing at Setsubun).

Examples

1. 節分の日に豆をまく習慣がある。 There's a custom of throwing beans on Setsubun.
2. この料理には豆がたくさん入っている。 This dish has a lot of beans in it.
3. 子供の頃は豆が嫌いだったけど、今は好きだ。 I hated beans as a kid, but now I like them.

Usage Guide

Context: food, cooking, culture

Tone: neutral

Origin & History

From Old Japanese. The kanji 豆 originally depicted a tall-stemmed ritual vessel, but came to represent beans through phonetic borrowing. The shape of the vessel resembled a bean pod.

Cultural Context

Era: Ancient

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal