Japanese with Manga
Learning through examples in manga

Bead as an earring with ピアス

Vocabulary Explanation: イヤリング vs ピアス

Manga panel from 好きな子がめがねを忘れた showing example of Bead as an earring with ピアス.
好きな子がめがねを忘れた » Volume 5 » Page 56

Komura sees Mie pick up an item she dropped and he wonders if it’s an earring. He fails to get a look at whether Mie’s ears are pierced. During class later, Mie shows Komura the item held up to her ear calling it a 「ピアス」. She then reveals it’s just a bead.

三重(みえ):
「私(わたし)ピアス開(あ)けてないし」
“Since I don't have my ears pierced.”
小村(こむら):
「あっ…　…今朝(けさ)落(お)としてたのもビーズ？」
“Ah, the item you dropped this morning was a bead?”
三重(みえ):
「うん」
“Mmhm.”

Key Points

  1. ピアス開(あ)けてない means no pierced ears

    • In this line, ピアスを開(あ)ける means to make piercing holes, not to open an earring.

    • The object marker を is omitted before ピアス, which is normal in casual speech.

  2. ピアス and earrings

    • ピアス usually points to pierced earrings or the piercing itself.

  3. 〜てないし gives a casual reason

    • 開(あ)けてない is the casual negative of 開(あ)けている, describing her current state.

    • The ending し adds this as a reason or supporting fact for the bead explanation.

See Also