It’s not “hip,” folks, it’s “butt!” 日本人よ、お尻は「Ｈｉｐ」ではない！

I’m on a one-woman mission to disavow the Japanese people of their belief that the English for oshiri お尻 (bottom, butt, ass, buttock) is “hip.” Believe me, this misconception is widespread. If you need convincing, consider that I found the photograph below by searching Google images in Japanese for hippu ヒップ, a loan word taken from the English word "hip."

Now, that is not what a native English speaker would describe as a “hip.” That is clearly a “bottom,” “butt,” or a “pair of buttocks.” If you don’t mind being a little vulgar, “ass” (or “arse” if you’re British) would do fine too.

I tried searching “hands on hips” and got this picture below. I think that’s the pose most native English speakers would take if you told them to stand with their hands on their hips.

Next, I searched with ヒップに手を当てて (“hands on hippu“). Here’s what came up.

My friend Izumi was once told by a doctor in America to put her hands on her hips. When she put them on her bottom, he laughed and redirected them to her hip bones. Convinced, folks? O-shiri is not “hip!”