蕎麦
そば · soba · JLPT N3 · noun
soba (buckwheat noodles)
🍜 蕎麦 = buckwheat + grain; soba is short for sobamugi, edged wheat
Old Japanese called buckwheat sobamugi: soba meant edge or corner, and mugi meant wheat. The name comes from the seed's sharp three-cornered shape. Later the mugi part fell away, leaving soba for both the grain and the noodles.