What’s the Difference Between “Pori Pori” and “Bori Bori” in Japanese?

Have you ever eaten a crunchy snack slowly, making small, light sounds with every bite?

Or crunched through a hard snack with big, vigorous bites?

In Japanese, these two kinds of crunchy eating sounds can be expressed as:

Pori Pori (ぽりぽり)

あわせて読みたい

What Is “Pori Pori”? The Japanese Sound of Crunching and Scratching Ever bitten into a crispy cracker and heard that dry crunch? Or absentmindedly scratched your head or arm, making a light, repetitive sound? That’s when the …

Bori Bori (ぼりぼり)

あわせて読みたい

What Is “Bori Bori”? The Japanese Sound of Rough Crunching and Scratching Have you ever bitten into something hard and crunchy with a strong, rough sound? Or scratched your head vigorously, moving your fingers again and again? That…

They both describe repeated crunchy sounds, but the strength, loudness, and feeling of the biting are quite different.

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Differences Between “Pori Pori” and “Bori Bori”

In short:

• Pori pori → light, small crunches
• Bori bori → bigger, rougher crunches

Examples in Daily Life

Example 1: Casually eating crunchy snacks (Pori Pori)

He relaxed on the sofa and ate the short, crunchy snacks one at a time,
taking small bites as he enjoyed them —

pori pori…

Example 2: Crunching through the snacks vigorously (Bori Bori)

He grabbed a handful of the hard, crunchy snacks
and munched through them with big, energetic bites —

bori bori!

Try Using Them!

Someone nibbling a hard, crunchy snack with small, light bites?
→ Say pori pori

Someone loudly crunching through something hard with strong bites?
→ Say bori bori

Both are crunchy sounds —
but one feels light and crisp, while the other sounds bigger and rougher!

Explore More: Comparison Series