1.
to get offended; to sulk; to become contrary; to be in a bad mood
To become upset, offended, or stubborn over something, often resulting in uncooperative or contrary behavior. An idiomatic expression literally meaning 'to bend one's navel,' reflecting the idea that when one's center (navel) is crooked, the whole person becomes twisted or difficult.
彼はすぐへそを曲げる。
He gets offended easily.
冗談を言ったら、へそを曲げてしまった。
I made a joke and she got offended.
子どもがへそを曲げて何を言っても聞かなくなってしまった。
The child got sulky and wouldn't listen to anything anyone said.
An idiomatic expression literally meaning 'to bend one's navel.' The image is that when one's center (へそ, navel) is bent or crooked, the person's attitude becomes twisted and uncooperative. Written in kanji as 臍を曲げる, but the hiragana spelling is more common.
USAGE:
- Describes relatively mild, petty sulking rather than serious anger
- Often used for children or people who get upset over small things
- The expression implies the person's reaction is somewhat unreasonable or disproportionate
- Can describe both the moment of getting offended and the resulting sulky state
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- すぐへそを曲げる: to get offended easily
- へそを曲げてしまう: to end up sulking
- へそを曲げた顔: a sulky face
- また へそを曲げた: there they go sulking again
SIMILAR WORDS:
- すねる: to sulk; to pout — describes sulky behavior, often childish; less idiomatic
- 機嫌を損ねる: to offend someone; to put someone in a bad mood — focuses on the cause rather than the result
- むくれる: to pout; to get sulky — casual, describes visibly pouty, unresponsive behavior