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So, the difference between 兄{あに} and お兄{にい}さん is merely the level of
formality. Based only on the rules of 敬語{けいご} you say 兄 or お兄さん. note that the
reading of 兄 changes by adding **お** .

I am almost certain that 敬語 has _nothing_ to do with deciding whether to say
腹{はら} or お腹{なか}. Even though the superficial difference is 美化語, the difference
is not about 敬語. So, what is the difference in meaning and usage? Would a
doctor refer to my abdomen as 腹 or お腹? Is my へそ in the middle of my 腹 or お腹?
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2015-06-02T20:54:07.360
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question
word-choice
Difference between "腹{はら}" and "お腹{なか}" is not 敬語{けいご}?
At times, they are interchangeable, but 腹 has a wider range of uses whereas お腹
is only used to refer to the belly (particularly what is 'inside' the belly).

腹 on the other hand can have the meaning of 'gut' in the psychological sense
of the word as well as the physiological sense eg 'gut feeling' or
'butterflies in my stomach'.

You can see the difference when you search for the terms in dictionaries like
weblio ([腹](http://ejje.weblio.jp/content/%E8%85%B9) vs
[お腹](http://ejje.weblio.jp/content/%E3%81%8A%E8%85%B9))

As far as medical usage goes, I believe more specific terms are used eg
腹部(abdomen) or 胃 (stomach), so your へそ would actually be in the middle of your
腹部 if you wanted to be academic.
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answer