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[This is a guest post by Robert S. Bauer]

The Japanese word “ramen” has been borrowed from standard Chinese 拉麵 la1 mian4 ‘pulled noodles’; ramen/la1 mian4 is a different word from Cantonese “lo mein”, i.e., 撈麵 lou1 min6 ‘wheat noodles’. While these are two distinct words, nonetheless, they still seem to be ultimately related, according to Wikipedia’s entry on “ramen” which sheds some interesting light on their historical connection as follows:

“The origins of ramen can be traced back to Yokohama Chinatown in the early 20th century. The word "ramen" is a Japanese borrowing of the Chinese word lamian (拉麵), meaning "pulled noodles", but is not derived from the northern Chinese dish of lamian. Instead, the dish evolved from southern Chinese noodle dishes from regions such as Guangzhou, reflecting the demographics of Chinese settlers in Yokohama.” (from Wikipedia entry on ramen, retrieved on January 3, 2025). The would seem to imply that Japanese “ramen” refers to Cantonese 撈麵 lou1 min6, also known as “lo mein”.

Wikipedia has translated Cantonese 撈麵 lou1 min6 as ‘stirred noodles’; in this particular context the casual meaning of 撈 lou1 ‘to stir’ has applied, rather than its standard Chinese meaning of ‘to dredge; to scoop out of water’.

The dictionary references consulted here are as follows:

Mandarin 拉麵 la1 mian4 (= standard Chinese 拉面): N. noodles made by pulling the dough. DeFrancis 2003:528. (In Cantonese 拉麵 is pronounced laai1 min6).

Mandarin 撈 lao1 (= standard Chinese 捞) 1. drag for 2. get by improper means (DeFrancis 2003:531); scoop up from a liquid; fish for; get by improper means’ (Yao 2000:381).

Mandarin 撈麵 lao1 mian4 (= standard Chinese 捞面): N. seasoned mixed noodles V.O. take noodles out of water. DeFrancis 2003:535. (In Cantonese 撈麵 is pronounced lou1 min6).

DeFrancis, John 德范克, principal editor 主编. 2003. ABC Chinese-English Comprehensive Dictionary ABC 汉英大词典. 上海: 汉语大词典出版社.

Yao Naiqiang 姚乃强. 2000. Xinhua Dictionary with English Translation 汉英双解新华字典.北京: The Commerical Press International Co., Ltd. 商务印书馆国际有限公司.

The lexical entry for Cantonese 撈麵 lou1 min6 is reproduced below from page 617 of the ABC Cantonese-English Comprehensive Dictionary as follows:

lou1 min6 撈麵 N. (See also 杯麵 bui1 min6, 車仔麵 ce1 zai2 min6, 狗仔粉 gau2 zai2 fan2, 乾炒牛河 gon1 caau2 ngau4 ho4/2, 公仔麵 gung1 zai2 min6, 河粉 ho4/2 fan2, 幼麵 jau3 min6, 伊府麵 ji1 fu2 min6, 伊麵 ji1 min6, 麵 min6, 麵餅 min6 beng2, 麵檔 min6 dong3, 牛河 ngau4 ho4/2, 沙河粉 saa1 ho4 fan2, 細蓉 sai3 jung4/2, 通粉 tung1 fan2, 雲吞麵 wan4 tan1 min6, 紥仔粉 zaat3 zai2 fan2, 即食麵 zik1 sik6 min6, 淨麵 zing6 min6) boiled wheat noodles that are strained and then usu. seasoned with soy sauce or oyster sauce and chopped spring onion (a.k.a. green onion or scallion), may be topped with meat, fish, seafood, etc.

Bauer, Robert S. 2020. ABC Cantonese-English Comprehensive Dictionary. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press.

As we may note in the “see also” band in the lexical entry above, numerous other Cantonese lexical items refer to various kinds of noodles that can be related to lou1 min6 撈麵.

finis

Selected readings

• "Pulled noodles: Uyghur läghmän and Mandarin lāmiàn" (8/8/14) — Some notes on the origins of the words and characters for wheat, flour, and noodles in Turkic and Sinitic languages
• "Greater China Co-Prosperity Sushi and Ramen Kitchen" (6/4/23)
• "Progress in the war on Chinglish" (12/3/17)
• "'And the greatest Japanese export to China is…'" (8/21/12)

January 9, 2025 @ 10:20 am · Filed by Victor Mair under Borrowing, Etymology, Language and food

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