ぺちゃくちゃ

Japanese

Etymology

Alteration from べちゃくちゃ (bechakucha), an onomatopoeia for a large number of people talking noisily. The shift from initial /b/ to /p/ changes the meaning from an emphasis on noisy to an emphasis on lively. Compare English gabble, chatter, yackety-yak.

Also analyzable as a compound of root elements:

• ぺちゃ (pecha): onomatopoeia for lively talking, evocative of the sound of lips and tongues smacking; also onomatopoeia for the sound of water splashing against something.
• くちゃ (kucha): onomatopoeia for the sound of paper crumpling; by extension, indicates that something is being done in a confused or disorganized fashion.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) ぺちゃくちゃ [péꜜchàkùchà] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [pe̞t͡ɕa̠kɯ̟t͡ɕa̠]

Adverb

ぺちゃくちゃ or ペチャクチャ • (pechakucha) 

1. continuously and in a lively fashion (talking)

Related terms

Related terms

• べちゃくちゃ (bechakucha): continuously and noisily (talking)
• ぺちゃぺちゃ (pechapecha): continuously and in a lively fashion (talking); splashingly
• くちゃくちゃ (kuchakucha): crumplingly, wrinklingly, in a confused or disorganized fashion
• めちゃくちゃ (mechakucha): all messed up