ほっぺた

ほ

っ

ぺ

た

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

colloquialusually written using kana alone

Colloquial word for cheek, often used in casual speech and with children.

ほっぺたを膨ふくらませるto puff out one's cheeks
子こ供どもは怒おこってほっぺたを膨ふくらませた。
The child puffed out their cheeks in anger.
ほっぺたをつねるto pinch someone's cheek
おばあちゃんは孫まごのほっぺたをつねった。
Grandma pinched her grandchild's cheek.
ほっぺたが赤あかいto have red/rosy cheeks
寒さむさで赤あかちゃんのほっぺたが赤あかい。
The baby's cheeks are red from the cold.
ほっぺたにキスするto kiss someone on the cheek
彼かれは娘むすめのほっぺたにキスをした。
He kissed his daughter on the cheek.

頬ほおN3
頬 is the standard, neutral word for cheek, while ほっぺた is a colloquial, often affectionate term used especially with children.
ほっぺ
ほっぺ is an even more casual, baby-talk variant of ほっぺた, both meaning cheek in informal speech.

A colloquial development of 頬辺, formerly pronounced ほおべた, with contraction and consonant doubling producing ほっぺた.