# 頬

| 頬 | U+982C, &#38956; CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-982C |
| ← 頫 [U+982B] | CJK Unified Ideographs | 頭 → [U+982D] |

## Translingual

| Traditional | 頰 |
| Shinjitai (extended) | 頬 |
| Simplified | 颊 |

### Glyph origin

Japanese shinjitai Simplified from 頰 (夾 → 夹).
Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声) : 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 Dictionary: 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

## Chinese

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

## Japanese

| Shinjitai (extended) | 頬 |
| Kyūjitai | 頰 |

### Kanji

(Hyōgai kanji, shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai form 頰)
* Extended shinjitai form of 頰: cheeks

#### Readings

* Go-on: きょう (kyō)
* Kan-on: きょう (kyō)
* Kun: ほお (hō, 頬)、ほほ (hoho, 頬)、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)

#### Usage notes

The kyūjitai form 頰 was added to the Jōyō kanji list in 2010. This character form remains in common use.

### Etymology 1

* Kanji in this term
* 頬
* ほほ Hyōgai
* kun'yomi
* Alternative spelling
* 頰 (kyūjitai)
/popo/ → /fofo/ → /hoho/
From Old Japanese. Appears in the mid-Heian period dictionary Wamyō Ruijushō (938 CE).

#### Pronunciation

* (Tokyo) ほほ [hóꜜhò] (Atamadaka – [1])
* IPA: [ho̞ho̞]

#### Noun

頬(ほほ) • (hoho)
* (anatomy) cheek (the side of the face)

##### Derived terms

* 微笑(ほほえ)む (hohoemu)

### Etymology 2

* Kanji in this term
* 頬
* ほお Hyōgai
* kun'yomi
* Alternative spelling
* 頰 (kyūjitai)
[ho̞ho̞] → [ho̞ː]
Derived from hoho above.

#### Pronunciation

* (Tokyo) ほお [hóꜜò] (Atamadaka – [1])
* IPA: [ho̞ː]
* Audio:(file)

#### Noun

頬(ほお) • (hō)
* (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 Hyōgai
* 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.

#### Pronunciation

* (Tokyo) つら [tsùráꜜ] (Odaka –)
* IPA: [t͡sɨɾa̠]

#### Noun

頬(つら) • (tsura)
* the cheeks
* the face (usually written 面)
* one's facial expression
* the side of something
* the surface or front of something
* 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)
* a male given name

#### Proper noun

頬(すえもと) • (Suemoto)
* a male given name

#### Proper noun

頬(のりみち) • (Norimichi)
* a male given name

### References

* 1 2 3 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
* 1 2 3 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN