1.
to build up, to create, to complete
To create or construct something through sustained effort, bringing it to completion. Emphasizes the process and achievement of finishing.
会社をゼロから作り上げた。
I built the company from scratch.
十年かけて独自のブランドを作り上げた。
I spent ten years building up a unique brand.
選手たちが一丸となって強いチームを作り上げた。
The players united to build a strong team.
2.
to fabricate, to make up, to concoct
To invent or fabricate something that is not true, such as a story, image, or false scenario.
話を作り上げるな。
Don't make up stories.
メディアが事件を大げさに作り上げた。
The media fabricated the incident to seem bigger than it was.
犯人に仕立て上げるために証拠を作り上げた疑いがある。
There is suspicion that evidence was fabricated in order to frame someone as the culprit.
A compound verb from 作る (to make) + 上げる (to raise, complete). The 上げる component adds the nuance of completion or finishing. An ichidan verb. In sense 1, it conveys positive effort and achievement. In sense 2, it has a negative connotation of deception.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- ゼロから作り上げる (build from scratch)
- 時間をかけて作り上げる (build up over time)
- 話を作り上げる (fabricate a story)
- 証拠を作り上げる (fabricate evidence)