Translation guide
The English verb 'abridge' means to shorten a text, speech, or other content while keeping the essential meaning. In Japanese, this concept is expressed through several verbs and phrases, each with different nuances and contexts.
To reduce the length of a written work, speech, or other content while preserving the main points.
The most common and general verb for summarizing or condensing content. It implies extracting the essential points.
Please abridge this book.
He abridged the long speech.
Means to shorten or reduce in length. Often used for time, distance, or physical length, but can apply to texts.
To abridge the meeting time, we omitted the report.
A more formal term for condensing or abridging, often used in literary or academic contexts.
This novel was abridged for children.
To produce a shortened edition of a book, article, or other work.
Specifically refers to making an abstract or digest, often for academic papers or articles.
I abridged the thesis.
Commonly used for creating a digest version, especially for media like books or films. 'ダイジェスト' is a loanword from English.
They made an abridged version of this movie.
To abridge by removing sections, often to meet length requirements.
要約する focuses on summarizing content, while 短縮する emphasizes reducing length or duration. Use 要約する for condensing ideas and 短縮する for making something physically or temporally shorter.
There is no single Japanese verb that perfectly matches all uses of 'abridge'. Avoid directly translating as 'アブリッジする', which is not used. Choose the appropriate verb based on context.
細かい説明を省いて、要点だけ話した。
I abridged the explanation by omitting the details and just talked about the main points.