ぺらぺら
perapera
So thin nothing catches: ぺらぺら
The picture A thin sheet of paper running past your fingertip to the very end, with nothing anywhere to catch on. ぺらぺら is running past with nothing catching; ぼそぼそ is words mashed up in the mouth and barely getting out.
Where the picture shows up in ぺらぺら
-
a language running free
田中さんは英語がぺらぺらです。
tanaka-san wa eigo ga perapera desu
Tanaka speaks English fluently.
Facing a foreign customer and the mouth never once stopping to hunt for a word
-
answers running free
質問すると、ぺらぺら答えてくれました。
shitsumon suru to, perapera kotaete kuremashita
I asked, and they answered without missing a beat.
One question asked, and a long unbroken run of speech coming back
-
secrets running free
秘密をぺらぺら話さないでください。
himitsu o perapera hanasanaide kudasai
Please don't go blabbing the secret around.
Words that should have been kept back sliding out of the mouth like loose sheets of paper
This use is a reproach, not a compliment.
-
pages running free
資料をぺらぺらめくって確認しました。
shiryou o perapera mekutte kakunin shimashita
I flicked through the material to check it.
A thumb pushing the edge of a report so the thin pages stream past in one go
-
cloth with no body
このシャツは生地がぺらぺらです。
kono shatsu wa kiji ga perapera desu
This shirt is made of really thin fabric.
Shirt cloth pinched between two fingers with almost no thickness to it, the light showing through
All of it in one picture
Carry the flicking-paper picture through and all five line up. Words leaving the mouth without catching means fluent; more coming out than you asked for means answering freely. Secrets sliding out along with the rest means a loose tongue, and a thumb running a report to the last page means skimming it. Cloth with no thickness to catch in your fingers means flimsy fabric.