ぜんざい

ぜんざい
noun
sweet red bean soup (with mochi)
foodculture
1. sweet red bean soup (with mochi)
A traditional Japanese dessert consisting of a sweet soup made from azuki beans, typically served with mochi (rice cakes). Especially popular in winter.
ぜんざいを食(た)べた。
I ate zenzai.
寒(さむ)い日(ひ)に温(あたた)かいぜんざいを食(た)べると幸(しあわ)せな気分(きぶん)になる。
Eating warm zenzai on a cold day makes me feel happy.
祖母(そぼ)が小豆(あずき)からぜんざいを作(つく)ってくれたので、家族(かぞく)みんなで食(た)べた。
My grandmother made zenzai from scratch with azuki beans, so the whole family ate it together.

A beloved traditional Japanese sweet, especially in winter. Can be written in kanji as 善哉(ぜんざい), but hiragana is more common in everyday use. The definition varies by region in Japan.

Usage

In the Kanto (Tokyo) region, ぜんざい usually means mochi topped with thick, nearly soupless bean paste, and any soupy version is 汁粉(しるこ). In the Kansai (Osaka/Kyoto) region both are soups: ぜんざい has whole beans and 汁粉(しるこ) smooth paste.

Common collocations

Similar words

  • 汁粉(しるこ): sweet red bean soup — in Kanto, any soupy version; in Kansai, the smooth-paste soup, distinct from ぜんざい with whole beans
  • 餡子(あんこ): sweet red bean paste — the paste itself, not a soup
  • 和菓子(わがし): Japanese sweets — the broader category

Related Words

Compare: 餡子(あんこ) (sweet red bean paste)
Compare: 和菓子(わがし) (Japanese sweets)
Compare: 汁粉(しるこ) (sweet red-bean soup with mochi)
general
Added 2026.3.29 3:08 · Revised 2026.10.19 21:31
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