1.
opacity; degree of opacity
The extent to which something blocks light — the quantitative measure of how non-transparent a material, color, or digital layer is. In physics and materials science, it describes how much light is absorbed; in graphics software, it is the setting that controls how visible a layer or shape is, from fully invisible to fully solid.
不透明度を上げる。
To raise the opacity.
レイヤーの不透明度を五十パーセントに設定した。
I set the layer's opacity to fifty percent.
背景のテクスチャーの不透明度を下げて、文字を読みやすくした。
I lowered the opacity of the background texture so that the text was easier to read.
Composed of 不透明 (opaque, not transparent) and the suffix 度 (-ness, degree). A scientific/technical term that names a measurable quantity — the degree of opacity — rather than simply saying something is opaque.
USAGE:
- Encountered most often in two contexts: (1) materials science / optics, where it quantifies how much light a substance blocks; (2) graphics and design software, where it is the standard translation of the English UI term "Opacity" (often rendered as an adjustable slider or percentage).
- Takes adjustival modifiers: 高い不透明度 (high opacity), 低い不透明度 (low opacity).
- In software, users often say 不透明度を下げる (lower the opacity) rather than "make more transparent."
- The opposite concept is 透明度 (transparency, degree of clarity), which is more common in everyday speech (e.g., describing water clarity).
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 不透明度を上げる: to raise the opacity
- 不透明度を下げる: to lower the opacity
- 不透明度を設定する: to set the opacity
- 不透明度が高い: the opacity is high
- レイヤーの不透明度: layer opacity
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 透明度: transparency — the inverse measure; common in everyday usage (e.g., of water)
- 不透明: opaque — the adjective form, also used figuratively for "unclear" (as in political situations)
- 透過率: transmittance — a more technical optics term, the percentage of light that passes through
- 濃度: density, concentration — sometimes used loosely in graphics software in place of opacity