蕎麦

See also: 荞麦 and 蕎麥

Japanese

Japanese Wikipedia has an article on:

蕎麦

Wikipedia ^ja

English Wikipedia has an article on:

Soba

Wikipedia

Etymology

Kanji in this term
蕎	麦
そば
Jinmeiyō	Grade: 2
jukujikun

Alternative spellings
蕎麥 (kyūjitai) 𛁛𛂦゙ (hentaigana)

Not attested until the late 1400s,^[1] as a shortening of older 蕎麦 (soba mugi, literally “soba grain”).^[1]^[2]^[3]

Two theories exist regarding the ultimate derivation of the soba element:

Samuel Martin reconstructs soba as Proto-Japonic *sonpa and derives it as a compound of *so (unknown) +‎ *pa (“feather”). The *pa changes to *_nba as an instance of rendaku (連濁).^[4]

From 稜 (soba, “an edge, a corner”),^[5] in reference to the seed of the plant being a triangular oval shape with protruding corners.^[6]

Considering the late appearance of soba in isolation with the meaning of buckwheat, and the attested earlier senses of side; corner, edge, Martin's reconstruction seems unlikely.

The kanji spelling is an example of jukujikun (熟字訓), from 蕎 (“buckwheat”) +‎ 麦 (“wheat”).

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) そば [sóꜜbà] (Atamadaka – [1])^[7]^[3]^[8]
IPA^(key): [so̞ba̠]

Noun

蕎麦(そば) or 蕎麦(そばむぎ) or 蕎麦(そまむぎ) • (soba or sobamugi or somamugi)

buckwheat
蕎麦(そば)の量(りょう)が多(おお)い
soba no ryō ga ōi
There are a lot of buckwheats
soba, a variety of Japanese noodle made from buckwheat
私(わたし)はあなたに蕎麦(そば)を食(た)べさせたいと思(おも)っています。
Watashi wa anata ni soba o tabesasetai to omotteimasu.
I'm thinking about letting you try some soba noodles.

Derived terms

蕎麦汁(そばつゆ) (sobatsuyu): soba dipping sauce
支那蕎麦(しなそば) (shina soba): ramen
雀斑(そばかす) (sobakasu): freckles
蕎麦滓(そばかす) (sobakasu): freckles; buckwheat chaff
蕎麦(そば)がき (sobagaki): sobagaki, a dish of buckwheat paste
溝蕎麦(ミゾソバ) (mizo soba)
藪蕎麦(やぶそば) (yabusoba)

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 “蕎麦”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
^ Shinmura, Izuru, editor (1998), 広辞苑 [Kōjien] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, →ISBN
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
^ Samuel E. Martin (1987) The Japanese Language Through Time, New Haven, London: Yale University Press, →ISBN
^ “稜”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[2] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
^ ソバ／蕎麦／そば - Gogen Yurai Jiten (in Japanese)
^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

[KDJ2-1] 1.0 ^1.1 “蕎麦”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006

[K-2] Shinmura, Izuru, editor (1998), 広辞苑 [Kōjien] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, →ISBN

[SMK5-3] 3.0 ^3.1 Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[4] Samuel E. Martin (1987) The Japanese Language Through Time, New Haven, London: Yale University Press, →ISBN

[NKDSobaEdge-5] “稜”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[2] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006

[GYJSoba-6] ソバ／蕎麦／そば - Gogen Yurai Jiten (in Japanese)

[DJR-7] Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[NHK-8] NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

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