彫ほる

ほ

る

Common wordJLPTN2Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

1

godan verb (-ru), transitive verb

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.

2

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.

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

Kanji

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

Similar words

刻きざむ
刻む often implies finer, repeated cutting or mincing, and is used for chopping food, carving details, or marking the passage of time. 彫る is broader for shaping solid materials or tattooing.
掘ほる
掘る means to dig (a hole, the ground). 彫る means to carve or engrave. They share the same reading but are written with different kanji.

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.