ラーメン

ラ

ー

メ

ン

Common wordJLPTN5Freq.FrequencyTop 2,000

Meanings

noun

ramen; Chinese-style noodles

usually written using kana alone

Refers to the Japanese adaptation of Chinese pulled noodles, typically served in a meat or fish broth with toppings.

from Chinese lāmiàn

今日きょうの昼ひるごはんはラーメンにしよう。
Let's have ramen for lunch today.
この店みせのラーメンはスープが濃のう厚こうでおいしい。
The ramen at this shop has a rich, delicious broth.

See all 434 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

ラーメンをすするto slurp ramen
彼かれは音おとを立たててラーメンをすすった。
He slurped his ramen noisily.
ラーメンの汁しるを飲のみ干ほすto drink up all the ramen broth
彼かの女じょはラーメンの汁しるを最さい後ごまで飲のみ干ほした。
She drank the ramen broth down to the last drop.
即そく席せきラーメンを作つくるto make instant ramen
夜や食しょくに即そく席せきラーメンを作つくった。
I made instant ramen as a late-night snack.

Kanji

拉Latin, kidnap, crush
麺noodles, wheat flour
老old man, old age, grow old

Related words

中ちゅう華かそば
中華そば is an older, now less common term for ラーメン, sometimes used to evoke a nostalgic or specific regional style.

Don't confuse with

つけ麺めん
つけ麺 serves the noodles and broth separately for dipping, unlike ラーメン where the noodles sit in the soup.

Counted with

杯はいN4
Used for bowls/servings of ramen and other noodle dishes.
食しょくN1
Used for meals/servings; more general than 杯.

Written forms

ラーメンUsage95%
Standard katakana spelling; the word is usually written in kana.
らーめんUsage4%
irregular kana usage
Hiragana variant with irregular long vowel; seen in some shop signs and casual writing.
拉麺らーめんUsage1%
rarely-used kanji form
Rare kanji form using the Chinese characters for 'pulled noodles'; not commonly used.
老麺らーめんUsage<1%
rarely-used kanji form
Rare kanji form; almost never used in modern Japanese.
らあめんUsage<1%
search-only kana form

Etymology

Borrowed from Chinese 拉麺 (lāmiàn, 'pulled noodles'), adapted into Japanese as ラーメン. The exact path of introduction is uncertain, but it became widely popular in Japan during the 20th century.