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ほくろ Japanese meaning | Kotomora

ほくろ

ほ

く

ろ

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

1

noun

mole; beauty mark

usually written using kana alone

Refers to a dark spot on the skin, either a congenital mole or a beauty mark. The medical term 'lentigo' is a more technical synonym.

彼かの女じょは頬ほほに小ちいさなほくろがある。
She has a small mole on her cheek.
その

ほくろ

は

昔むかし

から

ある

。

That mole has been there for a long time.

Written forms

ほくろUsage50%
Standard hiragana spelling; the word is usually written in kana.
ホクロUsage32%
kana-only spelling
Katakana spelling, sometimes used for emphasis or in informal writing.
黒子ほくろUsage18%
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form; the word is usually written in kana.

Kanji

黒black
子child, sign of the rat, 11PM-1AM

Etymology

The origin is uncertain. The kanji 黒子 literally means 'black child', but this is likely an ateji assignment based on meaning rather than a historical derivation.