What is the difference between 口元 and 口?


When talking about the body part (not, for example, entrances/exits), what is
the difference between these two words. Based on looking at these two pages
(for [口](http://ejje.weblio.jp/content/%E5%8F%A3) and
[口元](http://ejje.weblio.jp/content/%E5%8F%A3%E5%85%83)) I'm guessing that the
difference is that 口元 deals with the outside part of your mouth, i.e. the
lips, the shape of the mouth etc, while 口 deals with the "whole package" so to
speak (the inside of the mouth, the tongue, the words/language one uses).

Am I right on this? Can these two ever be used interchangeably? Are there
other parts of the body that work (grammatically) the same way? (I tried 鼻元,
but I got "root of the nose", which doesn't make sense to me...)




`～元` in such cases generally refers to the `area around ~`, mostly the
external area as you have mentioned.

I would say that 口 refers to _the mouth as a whole_ , an 'object' in some
cases (`口で食べる` = using the mouth to eat), while 口元 refers to _the area around
the mouth_ (`口元にお米がついてる` = rice stuck around the mouth). Similarly, 鼻 refers
to the nose, while 鼻元 refers to the _area_ around the nose. This is
corroborated by the first [goo dictionary
entry](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/jn2/178621/m0u/%E9%BC%BB%E5%85%83/) in
Japanese: `１ 鼻のつけね。鼻のあたり。` although I personally don't think it's a commonly
used phrase to begin with.

As far as I know, this rule applies more commonly to body parts like the ears
(耳 and 耳元), eyes (目 and 目元), hands (手 and 手元) and feet (足 and 足元). As to why
this is the case, I wasn't very sure but a [yahoo chiebukuro
entry](http://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q1136609061) I
found using Google explained that these body parts are used to _interact_ with
the world _outside_ the body. It was also explained that 鼻先 (= tip of the
nose) tends to be used rather than 鼻元, possibly because only a very specific
area of the nose is used to interact with smells.




`～元` in such cases generally refers to the `area around ~`, mostly the
external area as you have mentioned.

I would say that 口 refers to _the mouth as a whole_ , an 'object' in some
cases (`口で食べる` = using the mouth to eat), while 口元 refers to _the area around
the mouth_ (`口元にお米がついてる` = rice stuck around the mouth). Similarly, 鼻 refers
to the nose, while 鼻元 refers to the _area_ around the nose. This is
corroborated by the first [goo dictionary
entry](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/jn2/178621/m0u/%E9%BC%BB%E5%85%83/) in
Japanese: `１ 鼻のつけね。鼻のあたり。` although I personally don't think it's a commonly
used phrase to begin with.

As far as I know, this rule applies more commonly to body parts like the ears
(耳 and 耳元), eyes (目 and 目元), hands (手 and 手元) and feet (足 and 足元). As to why
this is the case, I wasn't very sure but a [yahoo chiebukuro
entry](http://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q1136609061) I
found using Google explained that these body parts are used to _interact_ with
the world _outside_ the body. It was also explained that 鼻先 (= tip of the
nose) tends to be used rather than 鼻元, possibly because only a very specific
area of the nose is used to interact with smells.

