1.
buttocks; gluteal region
The buttocks or gluteal region of the body. A clinical/anatomical term used in medicine, fitness, and formal writing. In everyday speech Japanese speakers use the much more common お尻 (or plain 尻).
臀部に痛みがある。
I have pain in the buttocks.
医師は臀部に注射を打った。
The doctor gave an injection in the buttocks.
この筋トレは臀部と太ももの筋肉を同時に鍛えられる。
This strength exercise trains the gluteal and thigh muscles at the same time.
Composed of 臀 ("buttocks") + 部 ("part, region"). A Sino-Japanese medical/anatomical term found mainly in clinical contexts, anatomy textbooks, pharmaceutical instructions (e.g., "apply to the 臀部"), and fitness writing. The kanji 臀 is not commonly written by hand and is often left in kana (でんぶ) in informal anatomy references.
REGISTER:
- Formal and clinical; avoid in casual speech.
- In everyday conversation, use お尻 (polite/neutral) or 尻 (blunt).
- In fitness and bodybuilding contexts, お尻, ヒップ, and 臀部 coexist; 臀部 sounds the most technical.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 臀部の筋肉: the gluteal muscles
- 臀部に注射する: to inject into the buttocks
- 臀部痛: pain in the buttocks
- 臀部を鍛える: to train/strengthen the glutes
SIMILAR WORDS:
- お尻: buttocks — the everyday, all-purpose word; appropriate in almost any non-clinical context
- 尻: buttocks — blunt/rough register; also used figuratively (e.g., 尻が重い)
- {ヒップ}: hips/buttocks — loanword, common in fashion and fitness
- 大殿筋: gluteus maximus — a specific muscle within the 臀部
RELATED TERMS:
- 腰: lower back, hips
- 骨盤: pelvis
- 太もも: thigh