1The front part of the torso containing the digestive organs; commonly called おなか in everyday speech.
お祭りで食べ過ぎて、腹がパンパンだ。
I ate too much at the festival and my stomach is bursting.
腹が減っては戦ができぬ。
You can't fight on an empty stomach.
冷たい飲み物を飲みすぎて腹を壊した。
I drank too many cold drinks and got an upset stomach.
医者に腹を触診してもらった。
I had the doctor palpate my abdomen.
2The womb where a fetus develops; a literary or old-fashioned expression.
母の腹の中で赤ちゃんはすくすく育っていった。
The baby grew steadily inside its mother's womb.
「一腹の子」という言い方は、同じ母から生まれた兄弟を指す。
The expression "children of one womb" refers to siblings born of the same mother.
3One's true thoughts or intentions, not openly expressed; what someone really thinks.
あの人は笑顔の裏で何を考えているのか、腹が読めない。
Behind that smile, I can't read what he's really thinking.
二人はお互いの腹を探り合っていた。
The two of them were trying to feel out each other's real intentions.
腹を割って話し合おうじゃないか。
Why don't we talk frankly and get everything out in the open?
上司の腹の内が分からず、部下たちは戸惑っていた。
Unable to read the boss's true intentions, the subordinates were confused.
4The nerve or resolve to face difficulties, used in expressions like 腹を決める and 腹を据える.
もう後戻りはできない、彼は腹を決めて前に進んだ。
There was no going back now — he made up his mind and moved forward.
交渉に臨む前に、腹を据えておく必要がある。
You need to steel your nerve before going into the negotiation.
腹が据わっている彼は、緊急事態でも落ち着いていた。
With his steady nerve, he stayed calm even in the emergency.
5Being broad-minded and generous toward others, as in the expression 腹が広い.
部下のミスを笑って許す、腹の広い上司だった。
He was a magnanimous boss who laughed off his subordinates' mistakes.
あの人は腹が大きく、小さなことでは怒らない。
That person is big-hearted and doesn't get angry over small things.
6Emotions held within; frequently used in anger-related expressions like 腹を立てる and 腹の虫.
何度も約束を破られて、さすがに腹が立った。
After having promises broken so many times, I finally got angry.
腹の虫が治まらず、その場を離れた。
Unable to calm my anger, I left the scene.
彼女は腹に据えかねる思いを抱えていた。
She was carrying feelings of anger she could no longer suppress.
7The bulging middle part of a container such as a jar or bottle.
この徳利は腹の部分が丸く膨らんでいる。
This sake flask has a rounded bulge in its middle.
花瓶の腹に美しい絵付けが施されていた。
A beautiful painted design was applied to the belly of the vase.
8The inside or inner part of something; 山の腹 can also mean the mountainside/mid-slope.
登山道は山の腹を横切るように続いていた。
The mountain trail continued as if cutting across the mountainside.
船の腹に大きな穴が開いていた。
There was a large hole in the hull (belly) of the ship.
9A physics term for a point of maximum amplitude in a standing wave, the opposite of a node.
弦を振動させると、腹と節が一定の間隔で現れる。
When a string is made to vibrate, antinodes and nodes appear at regular intervals.
10(suffix/counter) A unit for counting sacs of fish roe (such as すじこ).
市場で紅鮭の卵を二腹買った。
I bought two sacs of sockeye salmon roe at the market.
11(suffix/counter) A unit for counting bulging containers such as jars or pots.
骨董市で古い壺を一腹買い求めた。
I purchased one old jar at the antique market.