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腹ペコ (はらぺこ) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
Freq. Frequency Top 100,000 Meanings 1
noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no', na-adjective
hungry ; starving
colloquial
Colloquial, often used by children or in casual speech. Emphasizes a strong, empty-stomach hunger.
See also: ぺこぺこ
Written forms 腹はら ペコ Usage 34%
Standard colloquial spelling; 腹 is kanji, ペコ is katakana.
腹はら ぺこ Usage 38%
Variant with hiragana ぺこ; less common but seen.
はらぺこ Usage 15%
All-kana spelling, common in casual writing.
ハラペコ Usage
が
台だい
所どころ
に
集あつ
まっ
た
。
The hungry kids gathered in the kitchen.
13%
search-only kana form
All-katakana form; search-only variant.
Similar words ぺこぺこ Also means 'very hungry' but is a mimetic adverb/adjective; 腹ペコ is a noun-like adjective combining 腹 (stomach) with ペコ.
空くう 腹ふく Formal noun meaning 'empty stomach' or 'hunger'; 腹ペコ is casual and more emphatic.
Etymology Compound of 腹 (stomach) and ペコ, from the mimetic word ぺこぺこ (very hungry, or concave). The exact derivation is uncertain, but it likely emerged as a colloquial expression.
