noun
sōmen; fine white noodles
Thin, white wheat noodles, typically served cold with a dipping sauce in summer, or sometimes in hot broth.
夏には冷たいそうめんが食べたくなる。
In summer, I crave cold sōmen noodles.
素麺をゆでて、めんつゆで食べる。
Boil the sōmen and eat them with mentsuyu dipping sauce.
Katakana spelling, often seen in menus or product packaging.
Alternate kanji form, less common than 素麺.
The word sōmen is believed to derive from the Chinese term 索麺 (suǒmiàn), referring to thin, stretched noodles. The kanji 素麺 later became the standard spelling in Japanese.