What do “Onaka ga suita” and “Hara ga hetta” mean? Japanese おなかがすいた

08/03/2020

onaka suita hara hetta

While spending time with the Japanese, they sometimes say the followings:

Onaka suita —.
お腹すいたー。
Onaka ga suita —.
お腹がすいたー。

Hara hetta —.
腹減ったー。
Hara ga hetta —.
腹が減ったー。

Onaka pekopeko —.
お腹ペコペコ―。
Onaka ga pekopeko —.
お腹がペコペコ―。

“Onaka” and “hara” stand for “abdomen” or “stomach”.
Then, what do these above phrases mean?

Let’s take a closer look.

What does Onaka suita, Hara hetta or Onaka pekopeko mean?

These all mean “I am hungry.”

Onaka ga suita(お腹 が 空いた)

“Suita(空いた)” in “Onaka ga suita(お腹が空いた)” means “empty”.

In conversations, particles are often omitted if their meaning is clear. Therefore, “Onaka suita(お腹空いた)” has the same meaning.

The followings are examples of the changed shape of “Onaka ga suita”.

The negative form;
Onaka wa suitenai (Onaka suitenai).
お腹は空いていない(お腹空いてない)
I’m not hungry.

The question form;
Onaka wa suiteru? (Onaka suiteru?)
お腹は空いてる?(お腹空いてる?)
Onaka ga suiteru? (Onaka suiteru?)
お腹が空いてる?(お腹空いてる?)
Are you hungry?

Polite form;
Onaka ga sukimasita.
お腹が空きました。
I am hungy.
Onaka ga suite imasu.
お腹が空いています。
I am hungry./ I have been hungry.

The polite negative form;
Onaka wa suiteimasen.
お腹は空いていません。
I’m not hungry.

The polite question form;
Onaka wa suite imasuka?
お腹は空いていますか?
Onaka ga suite imasuka?
お腹が空いていますか?
Are you hungy?

Others;
Onaka ga sukisou (Onaka sukisou).
お腹が空きそう(お腹空きそう)。
Onaka ga sukisou desu (Onaka sukisou desu)
お腹が空きそうです(お腹空きそうです)。
I am nearly hungry.

Hara ga hetta(腹が減った)

“Hara ga hetta” is a casual and somewhat masculine way of saying.
“Hara” refers to the abdomen. Recently, “hara” is used in English to indicate the abdomen, such as “Hara chakra”.

“Hetta(減った)” is the past tense of “heru(減る)” which means “decrease”.

The negative form is;
Hara wa hetteinai.
腹は減っていない。

Hara wa hettenai.
腹は減ってない。

Hara hettenai.
腹減ってない。

The question form is;
Hara wa hetteru?
腹は減ってる?

Hara hetteru?
腹減ってる?

There is a way to say this phrase politely, but it is still an expression often used by men.
Hara ga herimasita.
腹が減りました。
I am hungry.

Onaka ga pekopeko(お腹がペコペコ)

“Peko peko(ペコペコ)” is the sound of an object being dented or distorted, or an onomatopoeic word that describes it. Or, it expresses that somebody’s bows his head so many times or that somebody is very hungry.

“Onaka ga pekopeko” is a casual expression, but there are also polite expressions.
(Note that it cannot be used in business scenes)

Onaka ga pekopeko desu.
お腹がペコペコです。
Onaka pekopeko desu.
お腹ペコペコです。

Other expressions that represent hunger

Harapeko(腹ペコ)
Kuufuku(空腹)
Sukippara(空きっ腹)
Kobara ga heru(小腹が減る)
Hara ga suku(腹がすく), etc.