あん

あ

ん

Common wordFreq.FrequencyTop 5,000

Meanings

red bean paste; anko

usually written using kana alonefood / cooking

Sweet paste made from azuki beans, used in many Japanese sweets.

餡あんを練ねるto knead/cook down the paste (when making sweet bean paste)
小豆あずきを煮にて餡あんを練ねる。
You boil the azuki beans and knead them into a paste.
〈物もの〉に餡あんをかけるto pour kudzu sauce over (a dish)
豆とう腐ふに餡あんをかける。
Pour the kudzu sauce over the tofu.
〈物もの〉に餡あんを入いれるto put filling into (a bun, dumpling, etc.)
まんじゅうに餡あんを入いれる。
You put the filling into the manju.
皮かわで餡あんを包つつむto wrap the filling in dough/skin
薄うすい皮かわで餡あんを包つつむ。
Wrap the filling in the thin dough.

あんこN1sense 1
餡子 is the everyday, casual word for sweet red bean paste, while 餡 is the more formal term often used in compounds like 餡パン.
葛くず餡あん sense 2
葛餡 specifically names the thickened kudzu-starch sauce, whereas 餡 is the broader word that can also mean bean paste or filling depending on context.

あんこN1
red bean paste; anko · filling; sweet filling · stuffing; padding
こし餡あん
strained bean paste; smooth sweet bean paste
あんパン
anpan; sweet roll filled with red bean paste · paint thinner (as an inhalant)
葛くず餡あん
kudzu starch sauce
あんみつ
anmitsu; sweet bean paste with agar, fruit, and syrup

Show 7 more

あんUsage64%
Usually written in kana. The kanji 餡 is also used but less common in everyday writing.
アンUsage25%
餡あんUsage11%
Kanji form, more common in formal or traditional contexts.

From Chinese 餡 (xiàn, 'filling'). The reading あん is a Japanese approximation of the Chinese sound.