ぜんざい
ぜんざい
noun
sweet red bean soup (with mochi)
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.
ぜんざいを食べた。
I ate zenzai.
寒い日に温かいぜんざいを食べると幸せな気分になる。
Eating warm zenzai on a cold day makes me feel happy.
祖母が小豆からぜんざいを作ってくれたので、家族みんなで食べた。
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, but hiragana is more common in everyday use. The definition varies by region in Japan.
REGIONAL DIFFERENCES:
In the Kanto (Tokyo) region, ぜんざい usually refers to a version with whole beans and mochi. In the Kansai (Osaka/Kyoto) region, the same dish is called 汁粉 if it uses smooth bean paste, while ぜんざい refers specifically to the chunky version with whole beans.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- ぜんざいを作る: to make zenzai
- ぜんざいを食べる: to eat zenzai
- 温かいぜんざい: warm zenzai
- お餅入りぜんざい: zenzai with mochi
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 汁粉: sweet red bean soup — similar dish; in Kanto, uses smooth paste; in Kansai, synonymous with ぜんざい
- 餡子: sweet red bean paste — the paste itself, not a soup
- 和菓子: Japanese sweets — the broader category