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抱腹 (ほうふく) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
Meanings 1
noun, na-adjective, noun or participle which takes 'suru', intransitive verb
convulsions of laughter ; splitting one's sides laughing
Literary or formal term for laughing so hard one doubles over. Often used in the set phrase 抱腹絶倒 (ほうふくぜっとう), meaning 'laughing one's head off' or 'convulsed with laughter'.
See also: 抱腹絶倒
倒とう
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コント
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客きゃく
席せき
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沸わ
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The audience roared at the hilarious sketch.
Written forms 抱ほう 腹ふく Usage 94%
Standard kanji form; literally 'hug belly', evoking holding one's stomach while laughing.
捧ほう 腹ふく Usage 6%
Variant kanji form; 捧 means 'hold up' or 'offer', but this spelling is less common.
Kanji 抱 embrace, hug, hold in arms Similar words 抱ほう 腹ふく 絶ぜっ 倒とう A common four-character compound using 抱腹; means 'laughing so hard one falls over'. More idiomatic and emphatic than 抱腹 alone.
爆ばく 笑しょう A more common, casual word for 'burst of laughter' or 'roaring with laughter'. 抱腹 is more literary and less frequent in everyday speech.
Etymology From the kanji 抱 (hug, embrace) and 腹 (belly), literally 'hugging the belly', describing the posture of someone laughing uncontrollably. The reading ほうふく is on'yomi. The variant 捧腹 uses 捧 (hold up) but is less common.
