耳たぶ

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 耳たぶ is a noun read みみたぶ, referring to the soft lower part of the ear, the earlobe.
• Basic usage: It can be the body part that turns red in cold wind or the location from which a small ornament hangs and moves.
  • 冷たい風で耳たぶが赤くなった。 says that an earlobe turned red in the cold wind; 小さな飾りが耳たぶで揺れている。 describes a small ornament dangling at an earlobe.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• 耳たぶが赤くなった
  • が marks the earlobe as the part that became red, and なる expresses that change of state.
• 耳たぶで揺れている
  • で marks the location where the ornament is moving. The sentence does not specify the wearer's gender or the number of earlobes.
• 耳たぶ and 耳
  • 耳 broadly denotes the whole ear, while 耳たぶ refers only to its soft lower lobe.