あからがお

Japanese

Alternative spellings
赤ら顔赭ら顔

Etymology

Attested from the 17th century.^[1] From 赤 (akara, “reddish, reddened”) +‎ 顔 (kao, “face”). The kao changes to gao as an instance of rendaku (連濁). Compare 赤(あか)らんだ (akaranda, “ruddy”).

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) あからがお [àkárágáó] (Heiban – [0])^[2]
IPA^(key): [a̠ka̠ɾa̠ɡa̠o̞]

Noun

あからがお • (akaragao) ^{←あからがほ (akaragafo)^?}

reddened face

Usage notes

Often used in reference to a face made reddish by sunburn, drinking alcohol, or other temporary phenomenon. Compared to terms such as 赤ら少女 (akara otome “rose-complected maiden”), wherein a red hue implies beauty, あからがお has a more neutral connotation.

References

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

[1] Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

[DJR-2] Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[1]

[2]