ほうれん草そう

ほ

う

れ

ん

そ

う

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

1

noun

spinach

Refers to the leafy green vegetable Spinacia oleracea. Common in everyday cooking and grocery contexts.

ほうれん草そうのおひたしが好すきです。
I like spinach dressed with soy sauce.

今こん夜やはほうれん草そうのソテーを作つくろう。

Let's make sautéed spinach tonight.

Usage patterns

ほうれん草そうを茹ゆでるto boil spinach
ほうれん草そうを茹ゆでておひたしを作つくった。
I boiled spinach and made ohitashi with it.
ほうれん草そうを炒いためるto stir-fry spinach
にんにくでほうれん草そうを炒いためた。
I stir-fried the spinach with garlic.

Kanji

草grass, weeds, herbs
菠spinach
薐spinach

Don't confuse with

小こ松まつ菜な
ほうれん草 (spinach) and 小松菜 (Japanese mustard spinach) are both dark leafy greens sold side by side in supermarkets, but they are different plants with distinct taste and texture.

Counted with

束たばN3
Spinach is naturally counted as a bunch/bundle when referring to a bunch of leaves or stems.
把わ
For bundles that fit in the grip — spinach, firewood, rice sheaves.
袋たい
Used when spinach is sold or counted as bagged produce.

Written forms

ほうれん草そう
Standard common spelling with high priority.
ホウレン草そう
Katakana-hybrid spelling sometimes seen in cookbooks or product labels.
菠薐草ほうれんそう
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form.
ホウレンソウ
kana-only spelling
Full katakana spelling, common in biological or culinary contexts.

Etymology

The Japanese name ほうれん草 is derived from the Chinese name 菠薐 (bōléng), which itself may be a phonetic rendering of a foreign word, possibly from Persian or Sanskrit via the Silk Road. The exact origin is uncertain.