POCCHA-RI ぽっちゃり
Meanings
Describes a person as pleasantly rounded, with full cheeks, arms, legs, or body shape—somewhat heavier than slim, but often with a cute or favorable nuance.
Examples
I actually prefer someone who’s a little on the chubby side.
俺は、少しぽっちゃりしているくらいのほうが好きだけどなあ。
Don’t say I’m fat. I’m just pleasantly plump.
「太ってる」なんて言わないで、「ぽっちゃり」してるだけよ。
Dogmatic Opinion
This may once have been used mainly for women, but I do not think modern Japanese limits it by sex or age. A man, a child, or an elderly person can all be POCCHA-RI.
It positively describes someone who is not thin and is somewhat toward the heavier side of the middle.
At the same time, it can also function as a euphemism for someone who is clearly overweight.
Well-fed babies who drink plenty of milk are almost automatically POCCHA-RI.
And the gap between what men imagine when they say “POCCHA-RI” and what women imagine is a surprisingly reliable source of arguments.
Proximate Expression
plump
chubby
fat
Related Words
For Japanese Learners
Chubby, plump, pleasantly rounded, and on the fuller side may fit. Simply translating POCCHA-RI as fat can be much harsher than the Japanese. The word often softens or positively frames a rounded body shape, although it can also be euphemistic.
