Hara-ga hetta. Ban-gohan, mada? (I'm hungry. Isn't dinner ready yet?)

Situation 1: Mitsuo has just come home from school.

光男：　ただいまー！ 腹が減った！晩ご飯、まだ？

母：　　おかえり！ もう少しだけ待ってね。

Mitsuo: Tadaimā! Hara-ga hetta. Ban-gohan, mada?

Haha: O-kaeri! Mō sukoshi-dake matte-ne.

Mitsuo: Hi, I'm home! I'm hungry. Isn't dinner ready yet?

Mother: Welcome back! Just hang on a few minutes.

Today we will introduce some set phrases using the noun 腹 (はら, literally, "belly"). 腹 is considered old, bookish or male vocab, but it appears in a range of modern phrases. おなか is its synonym. In Situation 1, 腹 is used to mean "stomach." 腹がへる (literally, "to get reduced") and 腹がすく (literally, "to become empty") mean "to be hungry," and are used mainly by men in casual conversations. Women and men speaking in more polite situations would say おなかがすいた. The phrase 腹が/おなかがペコペコだ is a more exaggerated version, meaning "starved to death," and is used in casual conversations. Its contracted form is 腹ペコ, a compound noun; here, おなか cannot replace 腹. This phrase appears in the Bonus Dialogue. Another expression where 腹 means stomach or digestive system is: 腹/おなかをこわす (literally, "to break the digestive system"), which means "to have diarrhea."

Situation 2: At a coffee shop, Ms. Aoyama is getting some advice on her love life from senior colleague Ms. Gray.

青山：　　 この３年、彼に対して腹が立つことばかりあって、ずっとがまんしてきたんです。

グレイ：　 青山さんが、もうこれ以上がまんする必要ないと思うな。

Aoyama: Kono sannen, kare-ni tai-shite hara-ga tatsu koto-bakari atte, zutto gaman-shite kita-n-desu.

Gurei: Aoyama-san-ga, mō kore-ijō gaman-suru hitsuyō nai-to omou-na.

Aoyama: For this past three years, he's done nothing but make me angry, but I've always put up with it.

Gray: I don't think you should put up with it anymore.

腹 can also be used to describe a person's mental condition or character. In this usage, おなか cannot replace 腹. The transitive verb phrase X(person/matter)に腹を立てる (lit. "to stand one's belly toward X") and the intransitive verb phrase 腹が立つ (lit. "the belly stands up") both mean "to get angry." The phrase 腹に一物 (いちもつ)ある (having something inside) and 腹黒(はらぐろ)い (black inside) both are used to describe a devious or evil person with ill intent. In the Bonus Dialogue, 腹いせ means "revenge."

Bonus Dialogue: Colleagues and friends Mr. Mita and Mr. Sere are drinking together at a bar.

三田：　 きょうは、ほんとに腹(はら)が立(た)ったよ。長年 (ながねん)の契約(けいやく)を簡単(かんたん)に破棄(はき)されて、それで、おしまい。

セレ：　 担当(たんとう)の山下(やました)って、どうも腹に一物 あるような感(かん)じの男(おとこ)だったよな。

三田：　 うん、結局(けっきょく)、噂(うわさ)通(どお)り、うちのライバル社(しゃ)と新(あたら)しく契約を結(むす)んだ みたい。山下の兄(あに)が、その会社にいるそうだ。

セレ：　 まったく腹黒(はらぐろ)い男だ！腹いせに机(つくえ)でもひっくり返(かえ)してくればよかったのに。

三田：　 そういえば、ぼくたち、大学生(だいがくせい)時代 (じだい)は正義感(せいぎかん)が強(つよ)くて、理不尽 (りふじん)な先輩(せんぱい)に腹を立てて、いすをけとばして出(で)ていったりしたなあ。

セレ：　 三田くん、それで、足(あし)の骨(ほね)を折(お)ったことがあったね。学生時代は純粋(じゅんすい)だったなあ。今(いま)は、こうやって酒(さけ)を飲(の)むばかりだけど。

三田：　 酒ばかりじゃなく、食(た)べ物(もの)も注文(ちゅうもん)しよう。腹を立ててエネルギー使(つか)ったから、腹ペコだよ。

Mita: I was so angry today. They canceled our long-term contract just like that — that's it, it's all over.

Sere: Yamashita, the one in charge, seems to be a man with an ax to grind.

Mita: Yeah, after all, they struck a new contract with our rival company, just as people had been saying. I heard that his older brother works at that company.

Sere: What a schemer that guy is! You should have paid him back by turning over a desk or something.

Mita: It reminds me of our university days. We had a strong sense of justice. We'd get angry at unreasonable senior students and kick chairs as we stormed out of rooms.

Sere: You once broke your leg doing that. How pure we were in those days! Now we do nothing but drink like this.

Mita: Instead of just drinking, let's order some food. I used up all my energy getting angry, so now I'm starving.