いんげん豆まめ

い

ん

げ

ん

ま

め

Freq.FrequencyTop 100,000

Meanings

1

noun

common bean; green bean; kidney bean

Refers to Phaseolus vulgaris and its many cultivars, including green beans, kidney beans, and navy beans. In everyday Japanese, いんげん often means the immature green pods eaten as a vegetable.

夕ゆう食しょくにいんげん豆まめのサラダを作つくった。

I made a green bean salad for dinner.

いんげん豆まめは食しょく物もつ繊せん維いが豊ほう富ふです。

Kidney beans are rich in dietary fiber.

Kanji

豆beans, pea, midget
隠conceal, hide, cover
元beginning, former time, origin

Related words

さやいんげん
Specifically refers to the immature pods (green beans) eaten as a vegetable, while いんげん豆 can also mean the dried beans.
隠いん元げん
The name of the Chinese monk Ingen Ryūki, after whom the bean is named; not used for the bean itself.

Word family

白しろいんげん豆まめ
cannellini bean; white kidney bean; navy bean
赤あかいんげん豆まめ
red kidney bean
黒くろいんげん豆まめ
black turtle bean; black bean

Written forms

いんげん豆まめ
Standard kanji-kana mixed spelling.
インゲン豆まめ
Katakana variant for the first part; commonly seen in markets and cookbooks.
隠いん元げん豆まめ
Ateji spelling using kanji for the Chinese monk Ingen; rarely used today.
インゲンマメ
kana-only spelling
All-katakana spelling, often used in botanical or culinary contexts.

Etymology

Named after the Chinese monk Ingen Ryūki (隠元隆琦), who is traditionally credited with introducing the bean to Japan in the 17th century.