昼顔(ひるがお)

ひるがお
noun
bindweed; field bindweed
1. field bindweed (Calystegia japonica); related Calystegia species
A creeping vine with pale pink, trumpet-shaped flowers that open during the daytime. Common as a wildflower along roadsides and field edges in Japan.
道端(みちばた)に昼顔(ひるがお)が咲(さ)いている。
Bindweed is blooming by the roadside.
昼顔(ひるがお)は昼間(ひるま)に花(はな)を開(ひら)く。
Bindweed opens its flowers in the daytime.
淡(あわ)いピンクの昼顔(ひるがお)が土手(どて)に広(ひろ)がっていた。
Pale pink bindweed flowers had spread across the riverbank.

Named from 昼(ひる) (daytime) + 顔(がお) (face), reflecting that the flowers open during the day. Forms a set with 朝顔(あさがお) (morning glory) and 夕顔(ゆうがお) (moonflower).

COMMON COLLOCATIONS:

  • 昼顔(ひるがお)が咲(さ)く: bindweed blooms
  • 野生(やせい)の昼顔(ひるがお): wild bindweed

CULTURAL CONTEXT:
The word also became widely associated with the 2014 TV drama "昼顔(ひるがお)〜平日(へいじつ)午後3時(ごごさんじ)の恋人(こいびと)たち〜", giving 昼顔(ひるがお) a colloquial second meaning of "daytime affair (between married people)" in modern usage.

SIMILAR WORDS:

  • 朝顔(あさがお): morning glory — opens in morning
  • 夕顔(ゆうがお): moonflower (bottle gourd) — opens in evening
general
Added 2026.6.4 11:08
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