Japanese symbol for “engraving”
彫刻
ちょうこく
Romaji: choukoku
carving; engraving; sculpture
In Japanese, engraving is 彫刻, read ちょうこく (choukoku).
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Meanings
- n, vi, vs carving; engraving; sculpture
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “engraving”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 刻印 | こくいん kokuin | engraving; inscribing; stamping (an impression) |
| 彫塑 | ちょうそ chouso | carving; engraving |
| 彫り | ほり hori | carving; engraving |
| 刻 | こく koku | carving; engraving; cutting |
| 彫り物 | ほりもの horimono | carving; engraving; sculpture |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 浮き彫り | うきぼり ukibori | relief; embossed carving |
| 彫像 | ちょうぞう chouzou | (carved) statue; sculpture |
| 彫る | ほる horu | to carve; to engrave; to sculpt |
| 木彫り | きぼり kibori | wood carving; woodcraft |
| 木彫 | もくちょう mokuchou | wood carving; wooden sculpture; woodcraft |
| 深刻 | しんこく shinkoku | serious; severe; grave |
| 時刻 | じこく jikoku | time; (the) hour |
| 遅刻 | ちこく chikoku | lateness; tardiness; arriving late |
See also: Chinese symbol for “engraving”.
Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.