1.
peanut; groundnut
A legume plant whose seed pods ripen underground, widely eaten roasted, boiled, or processed into oil and butter.
落花生を殻から出す。
To shell peanuts.
千葉県は落花生の産地として有名だ。
Chiba Prefecture is famous as a peanut-producing region.
落花生アレルギーがあるので、食べる前に成分を確認している。
Since I have a peanut allergy, I check the ingredients before eating.
The formal, standard Japanese word for peanut. The name literally means 'fallen flower born' (落 fall + 花 flower + 生 born), referring to how the flower stalk bends down after pollination so the pods develop underground.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 落花生の殻: peanut shell
- 落花生油: peanut oil
- 茹で落花生: boiled peanuts
SIMILAR WORDS:
- ピーナッツ: the loanword form, more casual and common in everyday speech
- 南京豆: an older name for peanut, now less common
CULTURAL NOTE:
千葉県 produces about 80% of Japan's domestic peanuts. Freshly harvested boiled peanuts (茹で落花生) are a seasonal delicacy in autumn.