ramen

American  

[rah-muhn] / ˈrɑ mən /

noun

Japanese Cooking.

ramens plural

1. (used with a singular verb) a bowl of clear soup containing noodles, vegetables, and often bits of meat.

2. (usually used with a plural verb) the Asian wheat noodles used in this soup.

   I prefer the wavy ramen to the straight ones.

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ramen British  

/ ˈrɑːmən /

noun

1. a Japanese dish consisting of a clear broth containing thin white noodles and sometimes vegetables, meat, etc

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plural noun

1. thin white noodles served in such a broth

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• ramens
  plural

Etymology

Origin of ramen

First recorded in 1960–65; from Japanese rāmen, from Chinese lāmiàn literally, “pull noodle”

Explanation

Ramen is a delicious Japanese noodle dish that's most often served in a hot broth. Whether you use chop sticks or a spoon, there's a lot of slurping involved in eating ramen. While ramen was invented in Japan, it was heavily influenced by southern Chinese noodle dishes. The name itself is a Japanese translation of the Mandarin Chinese lāmiàn, or "pulled noodles." You can use ramen for the noodle soup, topped with tofu, nori, scallions, sliced pork, or egg — and you can also refer to the wheat noodles themselves as ramen.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ramen ramens

Prosecutors said Alexander Soofer falsified invoices claiming he was serving fresh meals to residents while actually serving breakfast bars and microwavable ramen noodles.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

From garlic-lemon sautéed greens to ramen topped with baby bok choy, here are a few great meals to make with just a box of chicken stock.

From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026

I like sprucing up my ramen with fresh bok choy, baby corn, spinach and pickled red onions.

From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2026

Garlic, ginger and green onions — ingredients that will transform a bowl of ramen from simple to restaurant-quality.

From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2026

I tell him about Hiroshi, how I ate ramen and mochi with his family and how I went to Chinatown for the first time.

From "Starfish" by Akemi Dawn Bowman

Country is forced to choose between buying a couple precious ramens with his commissary money or saving up weeks of pay to buy a tube of Crest.

From Salon ● Aug. 31, 2018

It’s a sparse menu, only two ramens with a couple of sides, which makes it all the more maddeningly frustrating that it’s not more consistent. 

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 1, 2018

This is Mr. Kim’s most obvious homage to Korean instant ramens, many of which are more fiery than the typical Japanese product.

From New York Times ● Dec. 5, 2017

There are five ramens, including some vegetarian options, and a long list of appetizers, including fried chicken, braised pork belly and gyoza dumplings.

From New York Times ● May 30, 2017

Her menu offers only four ramens, three of which suggest locales other than Japan.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 9, 2015