How to say "cleavage" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- 卵割らんかつnounThe technical term in embryology for the division of the fertilized egg into cells; English 'segmentation' is an equivalent. Expect it only in biological and medical writing.
- へき開へきかいnoun, suru verb, intransitive verbThe gemology term: the splitting of a gemstone along its natural planes. It belongs to talk of gems and minerals only; for any other sense of 'cleavage' it is not the word.
- 乳間にゅうかんnounA less common word for the hollow between the breasts. It names the space plainly, without the figurative 'valley' image of 胸の谷間, which is the usual choice in everyday speech.
- 胸の谷間むねのたにまnounLiterally 'the valley between the breasts' — the figurative, everyday expression for a woman's cleavage, typical of talk about necklines and dresses. For the body sense, this is the word to reach for.
- nounThe English loanword. In practice it refers to the space between the breasts, chiefly in fashion and beauty contexts; it is less common, and 胸の谷間 remains the everyday word.
Choose by sense: 卵割 is the embryology term and 「へき開」 the term for gems; for the hollow between a woman's breasts, 「胸の谷間」 is the everyday expression, with 乳間 and the loanword 「クリーベッジ」 as less common alternatives.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
