also: ほうばる
godan verb (-ru), transitive verb
stuff one's cheeks; fill one's mouth
Used when someone puts a large amount of food in their mouth at once, making their cheeks bulge. Often implies eating eagerly or childishly.
子供がパンを頬張っている。
The child is stuffing his cheeks with bread.
あまり頬張ると喉に詰まらせるよ。
If you stuff your mouth too full, you'll choke.
Standard kanji spelling.
Kana spelling is common in everyday writing.
Search-only kanji form using the kyūjitai 頰.
Search-only kanji form.
Common colloquial pronunciation; the spelling ほうばる is also used.
Compound of 頬 (hō, 'cheek') + 張る (haru, 'to stretch, bulge'). The reading ほおばる is a regular rendaku form; ほうばる is a common colloquial variant.