Amy’s father is rather fat and has a big belly, so she said: おとうさんは おなかが おおきい。But her Japanese friends looked a bit amused.
Why?
In the JLPT N5 vocab list おなか is listed as “stomach” and in my dictionary is says: the belly, the abdomen, the tummy, etc. so why is おとうさんは おなかが おおきい strange?
That is because おなかが おおきい is a set expression for “being pregnant.”
So girls, no matter how much you eat, never say おなかが おおきい unless you are actually pregnant. You should stick to: おなかが いっぱい (I’m full)。
Other expressions using おなか:
- おなかが すいた。 = I am hungry.
- おなかが ぺこぺこだ。= I am starving!
- おなかの子 = a baby in the womb, a foetus
- おなかを痛(いた)めた子 = a child one gave birth to
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