How to say "soy" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- 大豆だいずnounThe specific name of the soybean (Glycine max) — the bean itself as a crop or ingredient. Use it in farming, cooking, and on food labels whenever soybeans, rather than beans in general, are meant.
- nounThe general word for beans: in shopping or cooking it covers beans as a group, soybeans among them. It matches 'soy' only loosely; for the soybean itself, use 大豆.
For 'soy' meaning the soybean itself — the bean, crop, or ingredient — use 大豆; 「まめ」 is the general word for beans and covers soybeans but does not single them out.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
