Japanese symbol for “sculpt”

彫る

ほる

Romaji: horu

to carve; to engrave; to sculpt; to chisel

In Japanese, sculpt is 彫る, read ほる (horu).

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

v5r, vt to carve; to engrave; to sculpt; to chisel
v5r, vt to tattoo

Written forms: 彫る、雕る、鐫る. Readings: ほる、える.

Kanji and stroke order

彫

carve, engrave, chisel

on: チョウ
kun: ほ.る、-ぼ.り

11 strokes · JLPT 1

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
彫刻	ちょうこく choukoku	carving; engraving; sculpture
浮き彫り	うきぼり ukibori	relief; embossed carving
彫像	ちょうぞう chouzou	(carved) statue; sculpture
木彫り	きぼり kibori	wood carving; woodcraft
木彫	もくちょう mokuchou	wood carving; wooden sculpture; woodcraft

See also: Chinese symbol for “sculpt”.

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.