蕎麦

See also: 荞麦 and 蕎麥

Japanese
蕎麦 (soba)

Etymology
Kanji in this term
蕎 麦
そば
Jinmeiyō Grade: 2
jukujikun
Alternative spelling
蕎麥 (kyūjitai)

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

Noun

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

  1. 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
  2. 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

References
  1. “蕎麦”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎ (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000, →ISBN
  2. 1998, 広辞苑 (Kōjien), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, →ISBN
  3. 1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  4. Martin, Samuel E. (1987) The Japanese Language Through Time, New Haven, London: Yale University Press, →ISBN
  5. “稜”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎ (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000, →ISBN
  6. ソバ／蕎麦／そば - Gogen Yurai Jiten (in Japanese)
  7. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  8. 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN
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