AN ESSENTIAL PHRASEBOOK · THE ONLY ONE YOU REALLY NEED

Fart-
Ography: How the World Says Fart

🇫🇷 🇩🇪 🇯🇵 🇧🇷 🇰🇷 🇮🇳 🇳🇬 🇳🇿
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The Fartographic Method

Fartography is silly.

The research isn’t.

Languages are messy. Words change between countries, cities, generations and families. A textbook translation may be technically correct while sounding completely ridiculous to a native speaker.

So we don’t just ask, “What is the translation of fart?”

We ask:

What do people actually say?

Where possible, Fartography checks words and expressions with native speakers, dictionaries and linguistic sources, records regional differences, and distinguishes between formal language, slang, children’s words and expressions.

If we get something wrong, please tell us.

Fartography is, like language itself, a work in progress.

🇯🇵
おなら
Stop 17
Japan
Japanese
おなら
/oh-NAH-rah/
IPA /o.na.ɾa/
🗣️ Everyday
Translation
Onara derives from an honorific verb form. Yes, the most standard word for fart contains a politeness marker.
In a Sentence
おならをしましたか?
"Did you fart?"
💨 What people actually say
屁をこく (he o koku) among friends; おなら in mixed company.
👶 The kid word
ぷぅ (puu) — the noise itself, used as the word.
🤬 The rude version
屁 (he) alone is blunt and a bit crude.
🎩 The polite version
おなら already carries an honorific prefix. It is polite by construction.
🗺️ Regional variations
Kansai leans on こく (koku) as the verb; Tokyo prefers する (suru).
📖 Literally speaking
おなら derives from お鳴らし — 'an honourable sounding.'
🧐 Fartology
The 12th-century He-Gassen scrolls depict full battles fought with flatulence.
⚠️ Use with caution
屁 in a formal setting is the equivalent of saying 'fart' in a job interview.
Cultural Note
12th-century Japan produced the He-Gassen ('Fart Battle') scrolls — illustrated competitions in which samurai weaponised flatulence against their enemies. The Smithsonian has written about them.
Surprisingly elegant for such dishonorable material.