DEPPU-RI でっぷり
Meanings
Describes someone as very fat and heavily fleshed, especially around the belly; it can also be framed more politely as having an imposing or substantial build.
Examples
He is so portly that his belly hangs over his belt.
でっぷりして、ベルトに腹の肉が乗っている。
Dogmatic Opinion
The slang word DEBU—“fat”—can be used subjectively as well as objectively. Someone who is 170 centimeters tall and weighs 45 kilograms might still have the distorted self-perception, “I’m fat.”
DEPPU-RI feels much more objective and strongly viewed from the outside. I picture someone fat enough that you might wonder whether they can run.
Descriptions such as “dignified” or “impressively built” sometimes strike me as polite euphemisms for saying the person is fat.
Interestingly, not every sumo wrestler looks DEPPU-RI. Size alone is not quite enough; the particular impression of heavy fleshiness matters.
Proximate Expression
fat
flabby
Related Words
For Japanese Learners
Portly, stout, heavily built, and very heavyset may fit. Portly can preserve some of the “substantial, imposing build” nuance, while obese is more clinical and DEBU is much blunter. DEPPU-RI is an appearance description and can easily sound unflattering.
