そば
そば · soba · JLPT N5 · noun
near
🍜 Soba noodles sit so-ba-side you: one sound for both beside and buckwheat
そば means beside or near (側/傍) and also buckwheat noodles (蕎麦). Hook the two together: the bowl of soba is always right beside you. Soba also half-echoes the English word beside: so-ba, be-side.