The direct use of soybeans [Glycine max L., (Merrill)] for human food is limited due to the presence of undigestible factors. One of these is thought to be stachyose. The course of stachyose disappearance during germination was followed. Soybeans were germinated by a standard procedure and by the same procedure interrupted with a period of water steeping. The effect of hypochlorite addition to the steep water also was investigated. The contents of mono‐ and oligosaccharides changed similarly with all three methods of germination for a 144‐hour period. During the first 96 hours the monosaccharide content increased. Raffinose disappeared by the end of 96 hours of germination, and stachyose disappeared by the end of 144 hours of germination. Steeping resulted in a decrease in the rate of rootlet growth without a decrease in the rate of disappearance of stachyose or raffinose. Water steeping and hypochlorite treatment were valuable in retarding mold growth throughout the 144 hours of germination.