# Puff-puff (onomatopoeia)
**Puff-puff** (ぱふぱふ, *pafu pafu*) is a Japanese onomatopoeic term for the act of placing a person's face between a woman's breasts and rubbing or pressing the breasts against the face; it can also describe a woman juggling her own breasts.[1](https://dragonball.fandom.com/wiki/Puff_Puff_%28sexual_term%29) The word was coined by manga artist [Akira Toriyama](https://www.edgepedia.org/akira-toriyama) in his series *Dragon Ball* and became a recurring gag and battle skill in the *Dragon Quest* video game series, for which Toriyama served as character designer.[1](https://dragonball.fandom.com/wiki/Puff_Puff_%28sexual_term%29) • [2](https://dragon-quest.org/wiki/Puff-Puff)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Native form | ぱふぱふ (*pafu pafu*), an onomatopoeia for breasts rubbing or bouncing against a face[1](https://dragonball.fandom.com/wiki/Puff_Puff_%28sexual_term%29) |
| Meaning | Placing a person's face between a woman's breasts, often for sexual pleasure; also used for a woman juggling her own breasts[1](https://dragonball.fandom.com/wiki/Puff_Puff_%28sexual_term%29) |
| Origin | Coined by Akira Toriyama in the *Dragon Ball* manga, chapter 15, in the Pilaf arc era of the series[1](https://dragonball.fandom.com/wiki/Puff_Puff_%28sexual_term%29) • [3](https://www.kanzenshuu.com/wiki/Dragon_Quest) |
| First publication | Chapter 15 of *Dragon Ball*; sources date it to December 1984, January 15, 1985, or the March 5, 1985 issue of *Weekly Shōnen Jump*[4](https://japankyo.com/2024/05/the-origin-of-puff-puff-japans-onomatopoeia-for-boobs-in-your-face-video/) • [1](https://dragonball.fandom.com/wiki/Puff_Puff_%28sexual_term%29) • [3](https://www.kanzenshuu.com/wiki/Dragon_Quest) |
| Dragon Quest debut | Offered to the Hero by a woman in Rimuldar for 50 gold coins in the original 1986 game; 20 gold coins in the Kol bathhouse in remakes[2](https://dragon-quest.org/wiki/Puff-Puff) |
| Battle skill | A recurring skill in the series, first introduced as a battle skill in *Dragon Quest VI*[5](https://dragonquest.fandom.com/wiki/Puff-Puff) |
| English dictionary sense | The English phrase *puff-puff* is glossed in Japanese dictionaries as ポッポ (poppo), the childish word for a steam train[6](https://kotobank.jp/ejword/puff-puff) |
## Meaning and origin
The term describes the action of someone placing their face between breasts and having those breasts squeezed onto their face.[4](https://japankyo.com/2024/05/the-origin-of-puff-puff-japans-onomatopoeia-for-boobs-in-your-face-video/) As an onomatopoeia, it evokes the soft, bouncing sound and motion of the act; a Japanese Dragon Quest dictionary describes it as a fitting expression of the springiness, softness, and squeezing motion involved.[7](https://wikiwiki.jp/dqdic3rd/%E3%80%90%E3%83%89%E3%83%A9%E3%82%B4%E3%83%B3%E3%83%9C%E3%83%BC%E3%83%AB%E3%80%91)
Toriyama introduced the word in the *Dragon Ball* manga. In chapter 15, as a reward for putting out the fire at the Ox Demon King's castle, the shape-shifting pig Oolong transforms into Bulma and, unbeknownst to the old man in question, offers the Turtle Hermit a "puff-puff" with "Bulma's" breasts.[3](https://www.kanzenshuu.com/wiki/Dragon_Quest) Sources disagree on the exact publication date of that chapter: the Dragon Ball Wiki states it appeared in *Weekly Shōnen Jump* on January 15, 1985,[1](https://dragonball.fandom.com/wiki/Puff_Puff_%28sexual_term%29) Kanzenshuu gives March 5, 1985 within the 1985 #14 issue of the magazine,[3](https://www.kanzenshuu.com/wiki/Dragon_Quest) and JapanKyo says the gag first appeared in a chapter published in December 1984.[4](https://japankyo.com/2024/05/the-origin-of-puff-puff-japans-onomatopoeia-for-boobs-in-your-face-video/)
## Sound-symbolic background
Pafu pafu belongs to the large class of Japanese sound-symbolic words, also called mimetics or ideophones, in which phonological form imitates or evokes sensory meaning. Sound symbolism is the systematic and non-arbitrary link between word and meaning, and behavioral studies show that both children and adults are sensitive to it in mimetic words.[8](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4026540/) The linguist Shoko Hamano, author of *The Sound-Symbolic System of Japanese* (1998), a study of Japanese mimetic words based on her University of Florida Ph.D. thesis, analyzed how individual phonemes contribute meanings such as size, weight, and shape to these words.[9](https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED424756) [Reduplication](https://www.edgepedia.org/reduplication), the repetition of a syllable as in *pafu pafu*, is a common pattern in the class and typically signals iteration or continuity of the depicted action.[8](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4026540/)
The English word *puff* itself is imitative in origin, and English *puff-puff* is a nursery word for a steam train, glossed as ポッポ in Japanese English dictionaries; this train sense is unrelated to Toriyama's coinage.[6](https://kotobank.jp/ejword/puff-puff)
## Dragon Quest appearances
Because Toriyama was the character designer for the *Dragon Quest* series, the gag migrated from *Dragon Ball* into the games and became a series tradition.[2](https://dragon-quest.org/wiki/Puff-Puff) • [7](https://wikiwiki.jp/dqdic3rd/%E3%80%90%E3%83%89%E3%83%A9%E3%82%B4%E3%83%B3%E3%83%9C%E3%83%BC%E3%83%AB%E3%80%91) In the original *Dragon Quest* (1986), a woman offers the lone Hero a Puff-Puff for 50 gold coins in Rimuldar; in the remakes the event takes place in the Kol bathhouse and the woman charges only 20 gold coins.[2](https://dragon-quest.org/wiki/Puff-Puff)
The term also names a recurring battle skill. It was introduced as a battle skill in *Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation*, where it is learned by advancing to rank 4 of the Gadabout vocation.[5](https://dragonquest.fandom.com/wiki/Puff-Puff) • [2](https://dragon-quest.org/wiki/Puff-Puff) When used by a female character it may distract an opponent for a few turns; when used by a male character it deals strike-based damage based on his level.[5](https://dragonquest.fandom.com/wiki/Puff-Puff) In the *Dragon Quest III* remakes it appears as one of the random actions a Gadabout can perform, dealing 25% of a normal attack's damage for men.[2](https://dragon-quest.org/wiki/Puff-Puff) In *Dragon Quest II HD-2D Remake*, both the Prince of Midenhall and the Princess of Moonbrooke learn it from an ability scroll found in Kol, and a superior Power Puff-Puff skill is available after defeating Xenlon.[2](https://dragon-quest.org/wiki/Puff-Puff)
Many of the series' Puff-Puff scenes are bait-and-switch gags in which the promised act turns out to be something innocent, such as a bunny girl offering makeup application; several scenes in later games allude to or recreate those of earlier entries.[2](https://dragon-quest.org/wiki/Puff-Puff)
## Localization and other media
Localizations have handled the term differently across releases; earlier games in particular sometimes censored it, and localized names have included "Motorboarding" in *Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai* and "Ahhh" in the *Monsters* spin-offs.[5](https://dragonquest.fandom.com/wiki/Puff-Puff)
## References
1. [Puff Puff (sexual term), Dragon Ball Wiki (Fandom)](https://dragonball.fandom.com/wiki/Puff_Puff_%28sexual_term%29)
2. [Puff-Puff, Dragon Quest Wiki](https://dragon-quest.org/wiki/Puff-Puff)
3. [Dragon Quest, Kanzenshuu Dragon Ball Wiki](https://www.kanzenshuu.com/wiki/Dragon_Quest)
4. [The Origin of PUFF PUFF: Japan's Onomatopoeia for Boobs in Your Face, JapanKyo (Tony R. Vega, 2024)](https://japankyo.com/2024/05/the-origin-of-puff-puff-japans-onomatopoeia-for-boobs-in-your-face-video/)
5. [Puff-Puff, Dragon Quest Wiki (Fandom)](https://dragonquest.fandom.com/wiki/Puff-Puff)
6. [puff-puff, プログレッシブ英和中辞典第5版 via Kotobank](https://kotobank.jp/ejword/puff-puff)
7. [【ドラゴンボール】, ドラゴンクエスト大辞典を作ろうぜ！！第三版 Wiki](https://wikiwiki.jp/dqdic3rd/%E3%80%90%E3%83%89%E3%83%A9%E3%82%B4%E3%83%B3%E3%83%9C%E3%83%BC%E3%83%AB%E3%80%91)
8. [Kanero, J., Imai, M., Okuda, J., Okada, H., Matsuda, T. (2014). How Sound Symbolism Is Processed in the Brain: A Study on Japanese Mimetic Words. PLoS ONE 9(5): e97905.](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4026540/)
9. [Hamano, Shoko (1998). The Sound-Symbolic System of Japanese. CSLI Publications. ERIC ED424756.](https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED424756)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Languages and linguistics › Linguistics › Grammars and phonologies of individual languages › East Asian languages*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license