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Where does the word "ramen" come from? It comes from Chinese lāmiàn, passing through Japanese before entering English (1900s).
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Where does the word "ramen" come from? It comes from Chinese lāmiàn, passing through Japanese before entering English (1900s).
Ramen’s story begins in Chinese: lāmiàn meant “hand-pulled noodles.” Literally "pulled noodles". By 1900s, the word had taken hold in Japanese as rāmen. Adapted the Chinese noodle dish into Japanese cuisine. It reached English by 1900s as ramen. Momofuku Ando invented instant ramen in 1958. Today, ramen means a Japanese noodle soup dish, often served with meat and vegetables.
- Stage 1 · Chinese · medieval lāmiàn "hand-pulled noodles", literally "pulled noodles".
- Stage 2 · Japanese · 1900s rāmen "noodle soup dish", adapted the Chinese noodle dish into Japanese cuisine.
- Stage 3 · English · 1900s ramen "a noodle soup dish", Momofuku Ando invented instant ramen in 1958.