How to say "bean" in Japanese

• まめJLPT N3approx.Common
  nounThe everyday word for beans and other edible legumes and their seeds, including peas and pulses. This is almost always the word you want when talking about beans as food.
  飲のむ分ぶんだけ豆まめをローストして、ミルで挽ひくんです。↗

  We roast just enough beans for the amount we're going to drink, and grind them in the coffee mill.
• どたま
  nounNot a food word at all: it is a derogatory slang term for the head or dome, with 'bean' appearing only in the sense of a person's head. Seldom the word you want for 'bean' in the vegetable sense.
• ビーン
  nounA loanword meaning bean, used in less common contexts, typically in borrowed expressions or menus. For ordinary talk about beans, まめ is the safer choice.

Use 「まめ」 for the actual legume or its seeds in everyday speech; 「どたま」 is a derogatory slang word for 'head', not food; 「ビーン」 is a less common loanword used mainly in loanword contexts.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• まめlegume (esp. edible legumes or their seeds, e.g. beans, peas, pulses)
• どたまhead
• ビーンbean
• 豆粒まめつぶ(single) bean