mung bean

2 3.4

A small green bean from Asia that people cook or grow into sprouts

noun
/mʌŋ biːn/

: frijoles mung

Less frequently, it is cooked with fish, beef sirloin, mung bean vermicelli, bean curd, and so on, and it is occasionally used in soup.
sprouted mung beans
mung bean samples
mung bean cultivars

And in some Asian cultures, they eat mung beans sprouts.

Examples

I am curious about using the mung bean in the batter and the nutty taste.

Blog text (12)
Rinse and soak the mung beans in water for 3-4 hours.

Blog text (12)
Well, these are mung beans and gobo root.

Nim's Island (2008)
And this right here, this is my spiced mung bean winter casserole.

Almost Christmas (2016)
The dried mung beans are soaked in water for hours and then ground into a batter.

Blog text (12)
The best alternative seems to be planting legumes such as mung beans or soybeans as the third crop.

Academic text (1996)
Among pulses, chickpea is the major winter grain legume and mung bean is the major summer legume.

Academic text (2014)
In my salad, I like to add a handful of fresh mung beans for extra crunch.
I enjoy making stir-fried dishes with mung beans and vegetables.
For a healthy snack, I often eat mung bean sprouts wrapped in rice paper.

Synonyms

bean

vsmung bean

512 1.0

An edible seed or pod from plants like peas and lentils used for food

is one particular small green legume seed often used in Asian cooking

mung

vsmung bean

2 7.3

A small green seed used for food in Asian cooking

is the same seed often sprouted or cooked in Asian dishes

green bean

vsmung bean

Indian

1 1.0

A small round seed used in Asian cooking, often dried or soaked

is the particular small green seed often sprouted or cooked

Vigna radiata

vsmung bean

Specialized

7.6

A bushy plant that grows in warm countries and produces edible mung beans and bean sprouts

is the common food seed often sprouted or used in cooking

Phaseolus aureus

vsmung bean

Specialized

7.5

A small green bean people grow for food and often use for bean sprouts

is the familiar edible seed used in cooking and sprouting

munggo

vsmung bean

Philippine

9.9

A small green seed used in Filipino and other Asian cooking

is the general food seed used across Asian cooking and for sprouts

green gram

vsmung bean

Indian

5.6

A small edible bean used in Asian cooking

is the same small green seed used for cooking and sprouts

green soy

vsmung bean

Indian

3.5

A seed from the mung bean plant used for food

is specifically the small green seed eaten or sprouted in Asian cuisine

golden gram

vsmung bean

Indian

7.1

A small green seed from the mung bean plant that is eaten or sprouted

is the standard small green seed commonly used for sprouts and cooking

mash bean

vsmung bean

Indian

5.4

A small green bean from the mung plant that people eat

is the common small green seed often prepared or sprouted

edible bean

vsmung bean

1.0

A seed from plants like peas or lentils that you can eat

is the specific small green legume seed often sprouted or cooked

Surface Forms

mung bean singular

mung beans plural

Morphology

mung + bean

This is a straightforward noun+noun compound: 'mung' names a particular edible seed and 'bean' denotes an edible legume, so the combined meaning (a type of edible bean) is directly and compositionally derivable. There is no idiomatic or metaphorical shift and similar compound naming occurs across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will understand it.

Etymology

Mung bean may come from the Indian word 'moong'; the parts mung and bean together simply name the small green seed people cook or sprout, so the name means 'a small green bean' used in food.