Dictionary

anpan en · NOUN

Etymology

From Japanese あんパン (anpan), from あん (an, “bean jam”) + パン (pan, “bread, pastry”).

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) A Japanese sweet roll most commonly filled with red bean paste.
   • Griselda returns, holding a bag full of wasabi peas and anpans. She knows I like the ones filled with custard rather than red bean, so I’m grateful she got my favorites. 2018, Peter Tieryas, Mecha Samurai Empire, New York, N.Y.: Ace, →ISBN:
   • Anpanman, a male hero whose head is composed of anpan—a doughy snack filled with sweet bean paste, is the central character in a children’s book (/cartoon/comic/toy) series in Japan. 1992, 91st Annual Meeting, San Francisco, California, American Anthropological Association, →ISBN, page 40:
   • For those familiar with the anime “Anpanman,” the title character is so named because his head is the shape of an anpan bun. 2005, Satomi Ikezawa, translated by William Flanagan, Othello, volume 3, New York, N.Y.: Del Rey Books, →ISBN:
   • Japanization of practice is reflected in the food used, such as the bread and anpan buns as a substitute for Korean rice cakes. 1999, Jeffry Thomas Hester, Place-Making and the Cultural Politics of Belonging in a Mixed Korean/Japanese Locale of Osaka, Japan, University of California, Berkeley, page 187:
   • My clearest memory involved plush toys from a certain TV series starring a character with an anpan for a head. 2022, EDA, translated by Gwendolyn Warner, Cooking with Wild Game, volume 19, J-Novel Club, →ISBN:
   • A young Misato brought her an anpan, her favorite pastry. 2021, D. B. Goodin, Echoes of Silence (Cyber Hunter Origins; 2), →ISBN:
   • A package of five anpan, 148 yen. 2023, FUNA, translated by Stephen Paul, Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for My Retirement, volume 3, Kodansha, →ISBN:
   • On my end, pastry has always been synonymous with pleasure: Once, a boyfriend in Austin insisted that his sister’s pan dulce could cure any heartache, and for a few bites of deliciousness, this was pretty much true. I’ve been healed by anpan eaten from Shimokitazawa’s just-opened bakeries, after nights spent at gay bars, because these were the first blessings we ran into. 2022 November 2, Bryan Washington, “Pecan Tarts: A Love Story”, in The New York Times Magazine, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 02 Nov 2022:
   • ANPAN (BREAD WITH BEAN PASTE) / Anpan is often sold wrapped in plastic. Draw a slice of anpan to show the red bean paste filling. 2020, Six Pommes, How to Draw Almost Everything: An Illustrated Sourcebook, volume 2, Quarry Books, The Quarto Group, →ISBN, page 125:
   • He bought two anpans. 2019, Clay Boutwell, Yumi Boutwell, Japanese Reading for JLPT N5, Kotoba Inc, →ISBN:
   • Anpan was a huge success and the bakery was immediately commissioned to serve the emperor’s court, which made their reputation solid. It is believed that the invention of anpan made a substantial contribution to bringing bread onto Japanese tables. 2016, Machiko Kusahara, “Proto-Media Art: Revisiting Japanese Postwar Avant-garde Art”, in Christiane Paul, editor, A Companion to Digital Art, Wiley-Blackwell, →ISBN, part I (Histories of Digital Art), page 116:
   • Anpanman is a Japanese superhero who has a head made of anpan—bread (pan) filled with sweet red bean paste (anko). 2020, Hikaru Nakamura, translated by Alethea Nibley and Athena Nibley, Saint Young Men, volume 5, Kodansha Comics, →ISBN:
   • At once, Tanuki changed himself into a little girl holding a plate with four anpan (buns filled with red bean paste)—the Tengu’s favorite food. As soon as the three Tengu saw the anpan, they rushed up to grab them. 2000, Rena Krasno, Floating Lanterns and Golden Shrines: Celebrating Japanese Festivals, Pacific View Press, →ISBN, page 46:
   • FAVORITE FOOD / ANPAN / *ANPAN ARE SWEET BEAN BUNS. 2021, Nikki Asada, translated by Emily Yamada, The Springtime of My Life Began with You, volume 4, Kodansha, →ISBN:
   • Anpan was a sweet Japanese bun filled with anko, a yummy red-bean paste. Every time Mom took me to Tokyo Premium Bakery, I ordered one anpan to eat there, and one melon pan for later. / “Are you kidding?” I said, hope floating in my chest like a balloon. “Anpan is delicious!” […] My tongue tickled at the idea of some fresh, warm anpan, but I knew I had to keep working on my mission. “Mom loves anpan,” I said, and it wasn’t even a lie. “Can I take her some, too?” 2020, Shauna Holyoak, Kazu Jones and the Comic Book Criminal, Little, Brown and Company, →ISBN:
   • Although the taste of anpan is nothing like peanut butter, the two styles are sometimes compared to the smooth-vs.-chunky debate. 2020, Sumito Oowara, translated by Kumar Sivasubramanian, Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!, volume 1, Dark Horse Comics, →ISBN, page 113, column 2:
   • Anpan is a sweet bread filled with red bean paste (it’s what Kurtz pictures on the first page of this story). An extremely widespread snack, one of Japan’s most popular cartoon characters is Anpan Man, a superhero whose head is an anpan bun. 2017, Petos, translated by Kevin Steinbach, Interviews with Monster Girls, volume 5, Kodansha Comics, →ISBN:

Forms