BEKKO-RI べっこり
Meanings
Describes a fairly hard, thin, plate-like surface being pushed or struck inward, leaving a large, conspicuous dent.
Examples
The collision left the car body badly dented.
衝突事故により、自動車のボディがべっこりへこんでしまった。
Dogmatic Opinion
I picture a sheet of metal being pushed inward by an external force, producing a large, irregular dent. Car bodies and guardrails are typical examples. The deformation is substantial, but not so extreme that the material has been punctured and a hole has opened.
Japanese also uses HEKOMU (へこむ, literally “to dent”) metaphorically for feeling emotionally hurt or depressed. Following that metaphor, you can playfully say that your heart has been dented BEKKO-RI.
Proximate Expression
indented
Related Words
For Japanese Learners
Badly dented, deeply dented, or caved in are natural translations. BEKKO-RI suggests a larger and more conspicuous inward deformation than an ordinary small dent. The humorous emotional use works because Japanese already uses “dent” metaphorically for feeling discouraged.
