Standard Lemma guide

kombu

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • General-American, Received-Pronunciation: /ˈkɒmbuː/
  • UK: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Edible kelp (“a type of brown seaweed”) (from the class Phaeophyceae) used in East Asian cuisine.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A kind of long horn instrument from Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Japanese 昆布 (こんぶ, konbu).

Across languages

Translations

21 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Ainu: コンプ (konpu) — edible kelp used in East Asian cuisine
  • Breton: kombu — edible kelp used in East Asian cuisine
  • Catalan: kombu — edible kelp used in East Asian cuisine
  • Chinese Mandarin: 海帶 /海带 (hǎidài) — edible kelp used in East Asian cuisine
  • Dutch: kombu — edible kelp used in East Asian cuisine
  • French: konbu — edible kelp used in East Asian cuisine
  • German: Kombu — edible kelp used in East Asian cuisine
  • Icelandic: kombu — edible kelp used in East Asian cuisine
  • Indonesian: kombu — edible kelp used in East Asian cuisine
  • Italian: kombu — edible kelp used in East Asian cuisine
  • Japanese: 昆布 (konbu) — edible kelp used in East Asian cuisine
  • Korean: 다시마 (dasima) — edible kelp used in East Asian cuisine
  • Malay: kombu — edible kelp used in East Asian cuisine
  • Persian: کونبو — edible kelp used in East Asian cuisine
  • Polish: kombu — edible kelp used in East Asian cuisine
  • Portuguese: kombu — edible kelp used in East Asian cuisine
  • Russian: комбу (kombu) — edible kelp used in East Asian cuisine
  • Slovak: konbu — edible kelp used in East Asian cuisine
  • Spanish: kombu — edible kelp used in East Asian cuisine
  • Thai: คมบุ — edible kelp used in East Asian cuisine
  • Turkish: kombu — edible kelp used in East Asian cuisine