浮うき彫ぼり

う

き

ぼ

り

Common wordFreq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

noun, noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no'

relief; embossed carving

Refers to a sculptural technique where figures project from a flat background, or the resulting artwork. Also used attributively with の.

この寺じ院いんの壁かべには美うつくしい浮うき彫ぼりが施ほどこされている。
The walls of this temple are decorated with beautiful relief carvings.
浮うき彫ぼりの技ぎ法ほうは古こ代だいから使つかわれてきた。
The relief technique has been used since ancient times.

noun

bringing to the fore; highlighting; throwing into relief

Figurative use: making something stand out clearly, often problems, contrasts, or characteristics. Common in phrases like 浮き彫りにする or 浮き彫りになる.

今こん回かいの事じ件けんは、制せい度どの問もん題だい点てんを浮うき彫ぼりにした。
This incident highlighted the problems with the system.
両りょう者しゃの違ちがいが浮うき彫ぼりになった。
The differences between the two became clear.

See all 24 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈事こと〉が浮うき彫ぼりになるfor something (a problem, contrast, etc.) to be brought clearly to light
調ちょう査さによって、地ち域いき間かんの経けい済ざい格かく差さが浮うき彫ぼりになった。
The survey brought the economic gap between regions clearly into relief.

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

浮floating, float, rise to surface
彫carve, engrave, chisel

Related words

レリーフ sense 1
レリーフ is a loanword used specifically for the Western art technique, while 浮き彫り is the native term that also carries a figurative meaning.
強きょう調ちょうN3sense 2
強調 means deliberately stressing a point, whereas 浮き彫り (in 浮き彫りにする) means letting something become clearly visible through contrast, often unintentionally.
打うち出だし
浮き彫り refers broadly to any raised relief pattern (in stone, wood, or metal), while 打ち出し specifically denotes the metalworking technique of hammering a design from the reverse side.

Don't confuse with

浮うき輪わ
浮き輪 is an inflatable swim ring, unrelated in meaning to 浮き彫り despite sharing the kanji 浮き.

Built from

浮うく+彫ほる

Written forms

浮うき彫ぼりUsage83%
Standard spelling; the okurigana き makes the reading clear.
浮うき彫ぼりUsage10%
Shortest variant; rare and mostly found in older or compact contexts.
浮うき彫ぼりUsage7%
Variant without the okurigana き; still common and readable.
浮うき彫ぼり
Abbreviated spelling; less common and may be harder to read.

Etymology

Compound of 浮き (uki, 'floating') + 彫り (hori, 'carving'). Literally 'floating carving', referring to the raised effect of relief sculpture. The figurative sense developed from the idea of making something stand out from its background.