also: みずおち
pit of the stomach; solar plexus
Refers to the area just below the sternum; commonly used in contexts of pain, pressure, or martial arts strikes.
It hurts when I press on the pit of my stomach.
The ball hit me in the solar plexus and I couldn't breathe.
Usually written in kana; the kanji spelling 鳩尾 is rare and may be unfamiliar to many readers.
Rare kanji spelling; the reading is a gikun/jukujikun and not derived from the individual kanji.
Alternate pronunciation; less common than みぞおち but still used.
The origin is uncertain. The kanji 鳩尾 are ateji (gikun) and do not reflect the word's derivation. The reading みぞおち may be related to 水落ち (water falling), but this is speculative.