彫ほる

ほ

る

Common wordJLPTN2Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

彫る · godan verb (-ru)

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	彫ほる	彫ほらない
Polite	彫ほります	彫ほりません
Past polite	彫ほりました	彫ほりませんでした
Past	彫ほった	彫ほらなかった
Te-form	彫ほって	彫ほらないで
Desire	彫ほりたい	彫ほりたくない
Potential	彫ほれる	彫ほれない
Passive	彫ほられる	彫ほられない
Causative	彫ほらせる	彫ほらせない
Causative passive	彫ほらせられるalso 彫ほらされる	彫ほらせられないalso 彫ほらされない
Volitional	彫ほろう
Polite volitional	彫ほりましょう
Imperative	彫ほれ	彫ほるな
Conditional	彫ほれば	彫ほらなければ
Tara conditional	彫ほったら	彫ほらなかったら

Meanings

godan verb (-ru), transitive verb

carve; engrave; sculpt; chisel

General term for cutting into a hard material to create a shape, pattern, or inscription. Covers wood, stone, metal, and similar materials.

木きを彫ほって仏ぶつ像ぞうを作つくった。
I carved wood and made a Buddha statue.
指ゆび輪わに名な前まえを彫ほってもらった。
I had my name engraved on the ring.

godan verb (-ru), transitive verb

tattoo

Only with reading ほる

Specifically for tattooing skin. The reading is ほる; the obsolete reading える does not apply here.

背せ中なかに龍りゅうの絵えを彫ほった。
I had a dragon tattooed on my back.

See all 115 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈物もの〉に〈物もの〉を彫ほるto carve/engrave something onto/into something
指ゆび輪わに彼かの女じょの名な前まえを彫ほってもらった。
I had my girlfriend's name engraved on the ring.
〈場ば所しょ〉に彫ほるto get a tattoo on a part of the body
彼かれは腕うでに龍りゅうの絵えを彫ほっている。
He has a dragon design tattooed on his arm.
はんこを彫ほるto carve a personal seal/stamp
職しょく人にんに頼たのんで自じ分ぶん専せん用ようのはんこを彫ほってもらった。
I had a craftsman carve a personal seal just for me.
仏ぶつ像ぞうを彫ほるto carve a Buddhist statue
祖そ父ふは木きで仏ぶつ像ぞうを彫ほるのが趣しゅ味みだった。
My grandfather's hobby was carving Buddhist statues out of wood.

Expressions

浮うき彫ぼりにするemboss; carve in relief · bring to the fore; highlight; accentuate
浮うき彫ぼりになるbecome distinct; stand out; be highlighted

Kanji

彫carve, engrave, chisel
鐫carve, engrave, chisel
雕carving

Related words

刻きざむN3sense 1
刻む emphasizes fine, repeated cutting such as mincing food or marking notches, while 彫る is used for shaping solid material or tattooing skin.
入いれ墨ずみ sense 2
入れ墨 is the noun for a tattoo itself, while 彫る is the verb used for the act of tattooing someone's skin.
削けずるN3sense 1
削る focuses on shaving or paring away surface material, whereas 彫る focuses on cutting a design or shape into the material.
彫ちょう刻こくN2
彫る is the everyday verb for carving or engraving, while 彫刻 is the more formal, noun-centered word for the art or resulting work.

Don't confuse with

掘ほるN3
掘る (same reading, different kanji) means to dig a hole in the ground, while 彫る means to carve or engrave a solid material.

Word family· 19

浮うき彫ぼり
relief; embossed carving · bringing to the fore; highlighting; throwing into relief
彫ほり
carving; engraving · chiseled features; sculpted look
木き彫ぼり
wood carving; woodcraft
彫ほり物もの
carving; engraving; sculpture · tattoo
丸まる彫ぼり
three-dimensional sculpture; carving in the round

Show 9 more

和わ彫ぼり
traditional Japanese tattooing; wabori
手て彫ぼり
hand-carving; hand-engraving
毛け彫ぼり
hairlines (engraving); fine-line engraving
額がく彫ぼり
gakubori; background elements in traditional Japanese tattooing
一いっ刀とう彫ぼり
one-knife carving
彫ほり上あげ
relief carving; embossing
彫ほり刻きざむ
engrave; carve
彫ほり込こむ
carve into; engrave into; inscribe
機き械かい彫ぼり
machine carving; machine engraving

See all 19 in Explore →

Written forms

彫るUsage97%
- ほる
  Standard kanji for carving, engraving, sculpting, and tattooing.
- える
  out-dated reading
ほるUsage3%
鐫るUsage1%
- える
  rarely-used kanji formout-dated reading
- ほる
  Rarely used kanji form.
雕る
- ほる
  Rarely used kanji form.
- える
  rarely-used kanji formout-dated reading
える
out-dated reading

Etymology

Native Japanese verb. The kanji 彫 is a phono-semantic compound with 周 (shū) as phonetic and 彡 (hair, pattern) as semantic, indicating carving or engraving. The reading ほる is the native Japanese reading.