King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “soba”

Romaji: soba
buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum)

In Japanese, soba is , read (soba).

Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.

Meanings

  1. n buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum)
  2. n soba; Japanese buckwheat noodles (food)
  3. n Chinese-style wheat noodles (food)

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

buckwheat
on: キョウ
kun: そば
15 strokes
barley, wheat
on: バク
kun: むぎ
7 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “soba”

WordReadingMeaning
そばきり sobakirisoba; Japanese buckwheat noodles

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
そばや sobayasoba restaurant
そばがら sobagarabuckwheat chaff
つきみそば tsukimisobasoba with egg
たぬきそば tanukisobasoba with tempura batter
かけそば kakesobasoba in hot broth; soba without any trimmings
こむぎ komugiwheat
こむぎこ komugikowheat flour
おおむぎ oomugibarley (Hordeum vulgare)

Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.

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