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What's the difference between 火を噴いて{ふいて} and 火を吐いて{はいて}?

Both seems to mean _fire-spitting_ , like a fire-breathing dragon, but is
there any difference in their nuances?
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2013-01-29T14:51:08.153
11078
2014-08-02T16:05:13.130
2014-08-02T16:05:13.130
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usage nuances synonyms
火を噴く vs 火を吐く​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
This seems like a reach even to me, but here goes.

The dictionary entry for `吐【は】く` that I'm seeing shows usages of `息などを出す` and
`胃／肺／口の中のものを口／鼻から出す`. This seems to imply that the fire is inside of the thing
(dragon, etc.) and is coming out. As opposed to the fire being generated at
the "exit point" or externally (like just outside the dragon's mouth). Even in
your examples, "fire-spitting" vs. "fire-breathing" seems to kind of indicate
this. `吐く` also usually implies coming out of the mouth or nose. So if the
dragon's fire is coming out of its arse/ears/other orifice(?), maybe `吐く`
wouldn't be applicable.

But overall they seem interchangeable. And if a dragon is shooting fire at you
at _all_ , put down your Japanese book and get the hell outta there!
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2013-01-29T16:05:33.077
11079
2013-01-29T16:05:33.077
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answer