ペコペコ

• 読み: ぺこぺこ
• ローマ字: peko peko
• 発音: /pe.ko.pe.ko/

意味

Extremely hungry (starving); also describes bowing repeatedly in an obsequious manner.

ペコペコ has two distinct uses. The most common in casual speech is お腹がペコペコ (stomach is peko peko), meaning you're very hungry — the word mimics a hollow, empty stomach. The second meaning describes someone bowing repeatedly and excessively, implying sycophantic behavior toward someone of higher status. This dual meaning makes it a uniquely expressive word that covers both physical and social situations.

例文

1. お腹ペコペコ、早くご飯食べたい。
2. あの人上司にペコペコしすぎじゃない？
3. 朝から何も食べてないからもうペコペコだよ。

使い方ガイド

場面: daily life, friends, describing hunger or behavior

トーン: expressive, colloquial

正しい言い方

• お腹ペコペコ〜何か食べに行こう (I'm starving — let's go eat something)
• 走り回ったらペコペコになった (After running around I got super hungry)

避ける言い方

• 目上の人の前で「ペコペコしてる」と他人を批判しない (Don't criticize someone for 'bowing excessively' in front of superiors — it's gossipy)

よくある間違い

• Not knowing the bowing meaning — ペコペコする about a person means they're being obsequious, not hungry
• Using in very formal situations — say 空腹です instead

起源と歴史

The 'hungry' sense imitates the feeling of a hollow, concave stomach (ぺこん = denting inward). The 'bowing' sense mimics the repetitive up-down motion of bowing. Both meanings have been in use since the early modern period.

文化的背景

時代: Traditional onomatopoeia, centuries old

世代: All ages

社会的背景: Universal

地域メモ: Used across all of Japan. お腹ペコペコ is one of the first onomatopoeia taught to children.