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引越しそば (ひっこしそば) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

引ひっ越こしそば

ひ

っ

こ

し

そ

ば

Meanings

1

noun

moving-in soba; soba given to new neighbors

A custom where someone who has just moved gives soba noodles to their new neighbors as a greeting. The phrase comes from おそばに参りました (I have come to be near you), a pun on そば (soba noodles) and そば (near).

See also: 蕎麦

引ひっ越こしそばを持もって、隣となりの家いえにあいさつに行いった。
I took some moving-in soba and went to greet the house next door.

最さい近きんは引ひっ越こしそばの習しゅう慣かんも減へってきた。

The custom of giving moving-in soba has been declining lately.

Written forms

引ひっ越こしそば
Standard kanji-kana spelling for the custom of giving soba to new neighbors.
引ひっ越こし蕎麦そば
Kanji spelling for そば; less common but still seen.

Kanji

引pull, tug, jerk
越surpass, cross over, move to
蕎buckwheat
麦barley, wheat

Similar words

蕎麦そば
Refers to soba noodles in general; 引越しそば specifically denotes the custom of giving soba when moving in.
引ひっ越こし
Means 'moving house'; 引越しそば is a compound noun for the soba given on that occasion.

Etymology

Compound of 引越し (moving) and そば (soba noodles). The custom is said to originate from a pun on おそばに参りました (I have come to be near you), where そば means both 'soba noodles' and 'near'.