also: じょうがく
upper jaw; palate
Refers to the upper part of the jaw, including the hard palate. Used in both everyday and medical contexts.
I fell and hit my upper jaw hard.
The dentist took an X-ray of my upper jaw.
Standard kanji spelling for the upper jaw. Can also be read じょうがく in technical contexts.
Technical or medical reading; rarely used in daily conversation.
Mixed kana spelling that makes the reading clear; common in everyday writing.
Compound of 上 (うわ, 'upper') and 顎 (あご, 'jaw'). The reading じょうがく is the on'yomi version used in technical terminology.