頬

頬

See also: 頰 and 颊

頬 U+982C, 頬 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-982C ← 頫 [U+982B] CJK Unified Ideographs 頭 → [U+982D]

Translingual

Traditional	頰
Shinjitai	頬
Simplified	颊

Glyph origin

Japanese shinjitai Simplified from 頰 (夾 → 夹).

Phono-semantic compound (形聲) : phonetic 夹 + semantic 頁 (“head”) – part of the head.

Han character

頬 (Kangxi radical 181, 頁+6, 15 strokes, cangjie input 大廿一月金 (KTMBC), composition ⿰夹頁)

References

• KangXi: not present, would follow page 1404, character 7
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): not present, would follow volume 7, page 4367, character 16
• Unihan data for U+982C

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Chinese

For pronunciation and definitions of 頬 – see 頰 (“cheek”). (This character, 頬, is a variant form of 頰.)

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Japanese

Shinjitai	頬
Kyūjitai	頰

Kanji

頬

(uncommon “Hyōgai” kanji, shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai form 頰)

Readings

• Go-on: きょう (kyō)^{←けふ (kefu, historical)}
• Kan-on: きょう (kyō)^{←けふ (kefu, historical)}
• Kun: ほお (hō, 頬)^{←ほほ (fofo, historical)}; ほほ (hoho, 頬)^{←ほほ (fofo, historical)}; つら (tsura, 頬)
• Nanori: かわ (kawa); すえみつ (suemitsu); すえもと (suemoto); つら (tsura); のりみち (norimichi); ほほ (hoho)

Compounds

• 頬髭(ほおひげ) (hōhige)
• 面頬(めんぽう) (menpō)

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
頬
ほほ Hyōgaiji
kun’yomi

Alternative spelling
頰 (kyūjitai)

/popo/ → /fofo/ → /hoho/

From Old Japanese. Appears in the mid-Heian period dictionary Wamyō Ruijushō (938 CE).[1]

Pronunciation

• Kun’yomi
• (Tokyo) ほ​ほ [hóꜜhò] (Atamadaka – [1])[2]
• IPA^(key): [ho̞ho̞]

Noun

頬(ほほ) • (hoho) 

1. (anatomy) cheek, (the side of the face)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
頬
ほお Hyōgaiji
kun’yomi

Alternative spelling
頰 (kyūjitai)

[ho̞ho̞] → [ho̞ː]

Derived from hoho above.[1]

Pronunciation

• Kun’yomi
• (Tokyo) ほ​お [hóꜜò] (Atamadaka – [1])[2]
• IPA^(key): [ho̞ː]

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

頬(ほお) • (hō) ^{←ほほ (fofo)?}

1. (anatomy) cheek

Usage notes

The reading hō is more common when used as a standalone noun.

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
頬
つら Hyōgaiji
kun’yomi

Alternative spelling
頰 (kyūjitai)

Of same origin as 列 (tsura, “a string or lineup of things”). Extending from the meaning of "lineup", the meaning changed to indicate the side of the items lined up. In reference to people, this came to mean the cheeks as the side of the face, and then by extension the face as a whole.[1]

Pronunciation

• Kun’yomi
• (Tokyo) つら​ [tsùráꜜ] (Odaka – [2])[2]
• IPA^(key): [t͡sɨᵝɾa̠]

Noun

頬(つら) • (tsura) 

1. the cheeks
2. the face (usually written 面)
3. one's facial expression
4. the side of something
5. the surface or front of something
6. one's honor: "face" as in save face or lose face

Alternative forms

• 面

Synonyms

• (face of a person): 顔(かお) (kao)
• (facial expression): 顔(かお)つき (kaotsuki), 表(ひょう)情(じょう) (hyōjō)
• (face, front): 面(おもて) (omote)
• (side): 側(がわ) (gawa), 傍(かたわ)ら (katawara)
• (surface, front): 表(おもて) (omote)
• (honor): 体(たい)面(めん) (taimen), 面(めん)目(ぼく) (menboku), 面(めん)子(つ) (mentsu)

Etymology 4

Used as ateji in various names.

Proper noun

頬(すえみつ) • (Suemitsu) 

1. a male given name

Proper noun

頬(すえもと) • (Suemoto) 

1. a male given name

Proper noun

頬(のりみち) • (Norimichi) 

1. a male given name

References

1. 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
2. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN