頬骨

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
頬	骨
きょう Hyōgaiji	こつ Grade: 6
on’yomi

Alternative spelling
頰骨 (kyūjitai)

/kepukotu/ → /keɸukot͡su/ → /keukot͡su/ → /kjoːkot͡su/

From Middle Chinese compound 頰骨／颊骨 (kiep? kwot, literally “cheek + bone”).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) きょ​ーこつ [kyóꜜòkòtsù] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [kʲo̞ːko̞t͡sɨᵝ]

Noun

頬(きょう)骨(こつ) • (kyōkotsu) ^{←けふこつ (kefukotu)?}

1. cheekbone

Synonyms

• 顴骨(かんこつ) (kankotsu) (less common, more formal)
• 頬骨(ほおぼね) (hōbone) (see below; more common)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
頬	骨
ほお Hyōgaiji	ほね > ぼね Grade: 6
kun’yomi

Alternative spelling
頰骨 (kyūjitai)

Compound of 頬 (hō, “cheek, jaw”) +‎ 骨 (hone, “bone”). The hone changes to bone as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) ほおぼね [hòóbóné] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [ho̞ːbo̞ne̞]

Noun

頬(ほお)骨(ぼね) • (hōbone) ^{←ほほぼね (fofobone)?}

1. cheekbone

Synonyms

• 頬骨(きょうこつ) (kyōkotsu) (less common, more formal)
• 顴骨(かんこつ) (kankotsu) (less common, even more formal)

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
頬	骨
つら Hyōgaiji	ほね > ぼね Grade: 6
kun’yomi

Alternative spelling
頰骨 (kyūjitai)

Compound of 頬 (tsura, “face; cheek”) +‎ 骨 (hone, “bone”). The hone changes to bone as an instance of rendaku (連濁). The tsura reading for 頬 is rare.

Alternative forms

• 面骨 (more common spelling)

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) つらぼね [tsùrábóné] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [t͡sɨᵝɾa̠bo̞ne̞]

Noun

頬(つら)骨(ぼね) • (tsurabone) 

1. cheekbone
2. one's facial features, one's looks

Usage notes

The cheekbone sense is more commonly expressed with the reading hōbone.

Synonyms

• (cheekbone): 頬骨(きょうこつ) (kyōkotsu) (see above; more formal)
• (features): 顔付(かおつ)き (kaotsuki), 顔立(かおだ)ち (kaodachi), 面立(おもだ)ち (omodachi)