What does azuki mean?
Azuki is the English name for a small, reddish-brown bean of the species Vigna angularis, one of East Asia's oldest and most cherished cultivated crops. Grown for millennia in Japan, China, and Korea, the bean is prized less for savory cooking than for desserts: when boiled and sweetened, it becomes anko (red bean paste), the filling inside classics like mochi, dorayaki, taiyaki, and red bean ice cream. In English, the word appears most often in food writing, recipes, and menus, typically as part of phrases such as 'azuki beans' or 'azuki paste'. A common alternate spelling is adzuki, and both are accepted without any difference in meaning. Nutritionally dense and naturally sweet, the azuki bean has traveled well beyond Asia and now features in health foods, vegan baking, and fusion cuisine worldwide, making this a useful term for anyone interested in global ingredients.
nounA small, reddish-brown bean (Vigna angularis) cultivated in East Asia and widely used in sweet dishes such as red bean paste; also called the adzuki bean.
- A small reddish-brown legume (Vigna angularis) grown in East Asia and used especially in Asian sweets and pastes.
"She folded sweetened azuki into the mochi before dusting it with rice flour."
"The bakery fills its taiyaki with warm, sweetened azuki."
"Simmered azuki makes a hearty base for traditional winter soups in northern Japan."
In practice, English writers rarely pluralize the word on its own; 'azuki beans' is far more common than 'azukis'.
"The recipe calls for two cups of dried azuki beans."
The word for Japan's beloved dessert bean is itself a bit of a linguistic sweetener: 'azuki' borrows its name straight from Japanese, where the bean has been turned into red bean paste for centuries.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of azuki
The word azuki was borrowed directly from Japanese into English, entering usage alongside growing Western interest in Japanese cuisine. In Japanese, azuki (小豆) names the small red bean itself, though the precise internal etymology of the Japanese term is debated and cannot be stated with certainty. The spelling adzuki arose as a variant transliteration of the same Japanese word, and both forms coexist in modern English. Beyond the borrowing itself, there are no well-established English cognates sharing the same root.
How azuki is actually used
Most often used attributively ('azuki beans', 'azuki paste') rather than as a standalone count noun. Both 'azuki' and 'adzuki' spellings appear in English cookbooks and menus; neither is considered incorrect.
Easily confused with azuki
Adzuki is simply a common alternative spelling of the same word, not a different item — both refer to the identical bean.