sōmen; fine white noodles
Thin, white wheat noodles, typically served cold with a dipping sauce in summer, or sometimes in hot broth.
In summer, I crave cold sōmen noodles.
Boil the sōmen and eat them with mentsuyu dipping sauce.
Ramen are Chinese-style wheat noodles, usually served in a hot broth, unlike the often cold sōmen.
Standard kanji spelling for sōmen noodles.
Kana spelling, commonly used in everyday writing.
Katakana spelling, often seen in menus or product packaging.
Alternate kanji form, less common than 素麺.
The word sōmen is believed to derive from the Chinese term 索麺 (suǒmiàn), referring to thin, stretched noodles. The kanji 素麺 later became the standard spelling in Japanese.