also: みずおち
noun
pit of the stomach; solar plexus
Refers to the area just below the sternum; commonly used in contexts of pain, pressure, or martial arts strikes.
みぞおちを押すと痛い。
It hurts when I press on the pit of my stomach.
ボールがみぞおちに当たって息ができなかった。
The ball hit me in the solar plexus and I couldn't breathe.
Rare kanji spelling; the reading is a gikun/jukujikun and not derived from the individual kanji.
Alternate pronunciation; less common than みぞおち but still used.
The on'yomi reading きゅうび is a different word referring to a dovetail joint in carpentry, not the body part.
The origin is uncertain. The kanji 鳩尾 are ateji (gikun) and do not reflect the word's derivation. The reading みぞおち may be related to 水落ち (water falling), but this is speculative.