ぶどう

also: えび

ぶ

ど

う

Common wordJLPTN4Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

1

noun

grape; grapevine

usually written using kana alone

Refers to the fruit or the plant. Commonly used in compounds like ぶどう酒 (wine) and ぶどう園 (vineyard).

冷れい蔵ぞう庫こにぶどうがたくさんある

。

There are a lot of grapes in the fridge.

このぶどうはとても甘あまい。

These grapes are very sweet.

Usage patterns

〈物もの〉を一ひと房ふさ食たべるto eat a bunch of grapes
冷ひやしたぶどうを一ひと房ふさ食たべた。
I ate a chilled bunch of grapes.
〈物もの〉を絞しぼってワインを造つくるto press (grapes) to make wine
収しゅう穫かくしたぶどうを絞しぼってワインを造つくる。
They press the harvested grapes to make wine.
〈物もの〉の皮かわをむくto peel the skin off (grapes)
子こ供どものためにぶどうの皮かわをむいてあげた。
I peeled the grapes for the child.

Kanji

葡wild grape, Portugal
萄grape vine, wild grape

Related words

ぶどう酒しゅ
葡萄 refers to the fruit or vine itself, while ぶどう酒 specifically means wine made from grapes.

Counted with

房ふさN1
For hanging clusters — grapes, bananas (ぶどう一房).
粒つぶN2
Individual grapes can also be counted as 粒.

Word family· 11

山やま葡萄ぶどう
crimson glory vine; Vitis coignetiae
葡萄ぶどう棚だな
grapevine trellis; grape arbor
葡萄ぶどう鼠ねずみ
reddish grey; grape mouse (color)
はまべぶどう
sea grape; baygrape

Written forms

ぶどうUsage31%
Standard kana spelling; usually written in kana.
ブドウUsage44%
kana-only spelling
Katakana spelling is common in biological or commercial contexts, such as on product labels.
葡萄Usage24%

Etymology

The word is of uncertain origin, but may be related to an ancient borrowing or native term for the fruit. The kanji 葡萄 are ateji, chosen for their phonetic value rather than their meaning.

白しろ葡萄ぶどう酒しゅ

white wine

Show 5 more

See all 11 in Explore →

ぶどう
Kanji spelling is common in formal or literary contexts, but the word is usually written in kana.
えび
out-dated reading

えび

out-dated reading

Obsolete kana usage; not used in modern Japanese.