udon

U1D2O1N1
/ˈuːdɒn/

noun

A Japanese wheat noodle.

UncommonScrabble 5

Meanings

nounudon (usually uncountable, plural udon or udons)

plural udons

  1. uncountableusuallyA Japanese wheat noodle.

    The first time I had niku udon was at a Japanese convenience store, now long closed, near Columbia University in the mid-1990s. For about $5, the attendants would plop a handful of freshly boiled udon into a Styrofoam cup and add a ladle of dashi broth seasoned with soy sauce and mirin.

    2022 October 19, J. Kenji López-Alt, “What Kenji López-Alt Makes His Family for Dinner”, in The New York Times

Origin

  1. Middle Chinese餛飩“wonton”
  2. Japanese饂飩
  3. Englishudon

From Japanese 饂飩 (udon), which is probably from Middle Chinese 餛飩 (hwon dwon, “wonton”).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Cantonese 烏冬 /乌冬
  • 烏冬 /乌冬udon
Chinese Mandarin 烏冬麵 /乌冬面, 烏龍麵 /乌龙面
  • 烏冬麵 /乌冬面 (wūdōngmiàn)udon
  • 烏龍麵 /乌龙面 (wūlóngmiàn)udon
French udon
  • udonudon
German Udon
  • Udonudon
Indonesian udon
  • udonudon
Japanese 饂飩, うどん
  • 饂飩 (udon)udon
  • うどん (udon)udon
Korean 우동
  • 우동 (udong)udon
Polish udon
  • udonudon
Russian удо́н
  • удо́н (udón)udon

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

udon. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/udon

MLA

“udon.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/udon. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “udon,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/udon.

Source: udon on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.