Japanese

Pronunciation

• On'yomi: Kan'on
• (Tokyo) きょ​うこつ [kyóꜜòkòtsù] (Atamadaka - [1])^[1]
• IPA^(key): [kjo̞ːko̞t͡sɯᵝ]

Noun

頬骨 ‎(shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai kanji 頰骨, hiragana きょうこつ, romaji kyōkotsu, historical hiragana けふこつ)

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

Compound of 頬 ‎(hō, “cheek, jaw”) +‎ 骨 ‎(hone, “bone”).^[2][1]The hone changes to bone as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• (Tokyo) ほおぼね [hòóbóné] (Heiban - [0])^[1]
• IPA^(key): [ho̞ːbõ̞ne̞]

Noun

頬骨 ‎(shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai kanji 頰骨, hiragana ほおぼね, romaji hōbone, historical hiragana ほほぼね)

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

Compound of 頬 ‎(tsura, “face; cheek”) +‎ 骨 ‎(hone, “bone”).^[2][1]The hone changes to bone as an instance of rendaku (連濁). The tsura reading for 頬 is rare.

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• (Tokyo) つらぼね [tsùrábóné] (Heiban - [0])^[1]
• IPA^(key): [t͡sɯᵝɾ̠a̠bõ̞ne̞]

Alternative forms

• 面骨 (more common spelling)

Noun

頬骨 ‎(shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai kanji 頰骨, hiragana つらぼね, romaji tsurabone)

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

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)

Usage notes

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

References

1. 1 2 3 4 5 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9
2. 1 2 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan