おっぱい

Japanese

Etymology

Generally agreed upon as originating from baby talk.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]

Derivation unclear. Possibilities include:

A shift from ををうまい (wo wo umai, literally “huh huh delicious”), as something a baby might think while breastfeeding.

/wo wo umai/ → /o o umai/ → /oːmai/ → /opːai/

While suggestive, the phonetic changes required seem unlikely. Moreover, the pitch accent differs, in that うまい (umai) has a high pitch on the ma followed by a downstep, while おっぱい (oppai) has a high pitch on the initial o followed by a downstep.

A shift from 一杯 (ippai, “one serving, one cupful; full”),^[4] as something a baby might say when done breastfeeding, or when asking to do so.

/ipːai/ → /opːai/

This seems more likely, as the phonetics align better: only one vowel changes, and the pitch accent in ippai is similar with a high pitch on the initial i followed by a downstep.

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) おっぱい [óꜜppàì] (Atamadaka – [1])^[3]^[5]^[4]
IPA^(key): [o̞p̚pa̠i]

Noun

おっぱい or オッパイ • (oppai)

(childish) milk, breastmilk (liquid)
Synonyms: 乳 (chi, chichi), (adult word for breastmilk) 母乳 (bonyū)

おっぱいが出(で)るようになる
oppai ga deru yō ni naru
to become able to produce milk
(anatomy, childish) boobies, titties (breasts)
Synonyms: パイオツ (paiotsu), 乳 (chi, chichi), 乳袋 (chibukuro), 乳房 (chibusa), (more general meaning of chest) 胸 (mune)
- 2000 August 10, Yūma Andō with Asaki, Masashi, “喧(けん)嘩(か)屋(や)　国(くに)光(みつ) [Kunimitsu, Brawl Delivery]”, in サイコメトラー[EIJI](エイジ) [Psychometrer Eiji], volume 24 (fiction), Tokyo: Kodansha, →ISBN:
  
  キャサリーン！オッパイ　大(おお)きくなれよぉー！
  Kyasarīn! Oppai ōkiku nare yōo!
  Katharine! Your boobs! Grow them bigger, okay!?
- 2015, 谷川ニコ [Nico Tanigawa], “喪79 [Fail 79]”, in 私がモテないのはどう考えてもお前らが悪い！ [No Matter How I Look at It, It's You Guys' Fault I'm Not Popular!], ガンガンONLINE [Gangan Online]:
  
  八(や)ツ橋(はし)のやわらかさは小(しょう)学(がく)生(せい)のおっぱいと同(おな)じ…　まじかよ　京(きょう)都(と)人(じん)ってど変(へん)態(たい)だな…
  Yatsuhashi no yawarakasa wa shōgakusei no oppai to onaji… maji ka yo Kyōto-jin tte do-hentai da na…
  Yatsuhashi are as soft as the tits of an elementary schooler… You serious? Kyoto must be seriously perverted…

Derived terms

(childish) ぱいぱい (paipai)
(breasts): (reversal slang) ぱいおつ (paiotsu)
(breasts): (slang) パイスラッシュ (paisurasshu)
(slang) 雄(お)っぱい (oppai)

Descendants

Chinese: 歐派／欧派 (ōupài)

References

^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
^ Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN