顔かおがほころぶ

顔がほころぶ · godan verb (-bu)

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	顔かおがほころぶ	顔かおがほころばない
Polite	顔かおがほころびます	顔かおがほころびません
Past polite	顔かおがほころびました	顔かおがほころびませんでした
Past	顔かおがほころんだ	顔かおがほころばなかった
Te-form	顔かおがほころんで	顔かおがほころばないで
Desire	顔かおがほころびたい	顔かおがほころびたくない
Potential	顔かおがほころべる	顔かおがほころべない
Passive	顔かおがほころばれる	顔かおがほころばれない
Causative	顔かおがほころばせる	顔かおがほころばせない
Causative passive	顔かおがほころばせられるalso 顔かおがほころばされる	顔かおがほころばせられないalso 顔かおがほころばされない
Volitional	顔かおがほころぼう
Polite volitional	顔かおがほころびましょう
Imperative	顔かおがほころべ	顔かおがほころぶな
Conditional	顔かおがほころべば	顔かおがほころばなければ
Tara conditional	顔かおがほころんだら	顔かおがほころばなかったら

Meanings

expression, godan verb (-bu)

break into a smile; smile broadly; beam

Describes a face naturally relaxing into a happy smile, often involuntarily or when seeing something heartwarming.

赤あかちゃんを見みて、彼かの女じょの顔かおがほころんだ。
Her face broke into a smile when she saw the baby.
孫まごの写しゃ真しんを見みるたびに、祖そ父ふの顔かおがほころぶ。
Every time he sees a photo of his grandchild, my grandfather's face beams.

See all 3 example sentences ›

Kanji

顔face, expression
綻be rent, ripped, unravel

Related words

微笑ほほえむ
微笑む is a more deliberate, gentle smile, while 顔がほころぶ emphasizes an involuntary, spreading smile that softens the whole face.
にっこりする
にっこりする is a brief, bright smile, often intentional, whereas 顔がほころぶ suggests a gradual, warm expression change.

Written forms

顔かおがほころぶ
Common mixed kanji-kana spelling; ほころぶ is often written in kana for this expression.
顔かおが綻ほころぶ
Full kanji spelling; less common and may look formal or literary.

Etymology

From 顔 (face) + が (subject marker) + ほころぶ (to come apart at the seams, to open). Originally used for flowers blooming or seams loosening, metaphorically extended to a face relaxing into a smile.