How do you say "earlobe" in Japanese?

耳たぶ

mimi tabu

Noun Kanji

In Japanese, "earlobe" is 耳たぶ (mimi tabu).

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Pronunciation

Mimi tabu is mee-mee-tah-boo, four syllables, the first two identical since mimi simply means ear.

Writing and usage

耳たぶ is written using kanji. It's a noun, and this word is also taught inside the Noun Town language learning game, where it appears in interactive lessons alongside hundreds of other everyday words.

Example sentence

彼女は耳たぶに小さなイヤリングをしていた。

kanojo ha mimi tabuni chiisa na iyaringu woshiteita.

She wore a small earring on her earlobe.

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How to remember 耳たぶ

Mimi means ear, repeated twice, mee-mee, so picture pinching your own ear as you add tah-boo for the lobe.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

Questions about 耳たぶ

How do you pronounce 耳たぶ?

Mimi tabu is mee-mee-tah-boo, four syllables, the first two identical since mimi simply means ear.

Is 耳たぶ formal or casual?

耳たぶ is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech. The level of formality comes from the sentence structure around it, not from the word itself.

How is 耳たぶ written in Japanese?

耳たぶ is written using kanji. Romanised, it reads as mimi tabu.

Where can I practice Japanese words for free?

You can play free Japanese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, with no sign-up needed. Every word in the Japanese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.

"Earlobe" in other languages

Curated by Callan Ratcliffe

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