綺き羅ら星ぼし

き

ら

ぼ

し

Freq.FrequencyTop 100,000

Meanings

noun

glittering stars

Refers to stars that shine brightly, often used poetically or in set phrases like 綺羅星のごとく (like glittering stars) to describe a gathering of talented or beautiful people.

夜よ空ぞらに綺き羅ら星ぼしが輝かがやいている。
Glittering stars are shining in the night sky.
会かい場じょうには綺き羅ら星ぼしのごとく著ちょ名めい人じんが集あつまった。
Celebrities gathered at the venue like glittering stars.

Written forms

綺き羅ら星ぼし
Standard kanji spelling; the characters 綺 and 羅 both suggest beauty and arrangement, fitting the image of glittering stars.
キラ星ぼし
Common variant with katakana キラ, often used in media and product names.
煌きら星ぼし
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form; 煌 means 'glitter' or 'sparkle'.

Kanji

星star, spot, dot
綺figured cloth, beautiful
羅gauze, thin silk, Rome
煌glitter, gleam, twinkle

Similar words

星ほし
星 is the general word for 'star', while 綺羅星 specifically emphasizes the glittering, beautiful aspect of stars.
きらきら
きらきら is a mimetic word for 'glittering' or 'sparkling', often used adverbially, while 綺羅星 is a noun referring to glittering stars themselves.

Etymology

Compound of きら (kira, onomatopoeic for glittering) and 星 (hoshi, star), with rendaku voicing of hoshi to boshi. The kanji 綺羅 are ateji chosen for their aesthetic connotations.