小豆あずき

also: しょうず

あ

ず

き

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

noun

adzuki bean; red bean

A small, reddish-brown bean commonly used in Japanese sweets, such as anko (sweet bean paste).

小豆あずきを煮にてあんこを作つくる。
I boil adzuki beans to make sweet bean paste.
この和わ菓が子しには小豆あずきが使つかわれている。
Adzuki beans are used in this Japanese sweet.

Written forms

小豆Usage64%
- あずき
  gikun (meaning-based reading) or jukujikun
  Standard kanji spelling; the reading あずき is a jukujikun.
- しょうず
  Rare on'yomi reading; mainly encountered in historical or specialized contexts.
あずきUsage22%
gikun (meaning-based reading) or jukujikun
Kana spelling is common in everyday writing, especially in recipes and product names.
アズキUsage14%
kana-only spelling
Katakana spelling is used in botanical contexts or for emphasis.
しょうず

Kanji

小little, small
豆beans, pea, midget

Similar words

あんこ
あんこ is the sweet paste made from 小豆, while 小豆 refers to the bean itself.
大だい豆ず
大豆 is the soybean, a different legume used for soy sauce, tofu, and miso, while 小豆 is the adzuki bean used mainly in sweets.

Etymology

The kanji 小豆 literally mean 'small bean'. The reading あずき is a jukujikun, where the kanji are assigned to the native Japanese word for this bean. The origin of あずき itself is uncertain, but it may be related to あず (crumbling) because the beans soften easily when cooked.