Translation guide
A vehicle capable of sensing its environment and operating without human involvement. In Japanese, the most common term is 自動運転車, but related phrases like 自動運転 and 自律走行車 are also used depending on context.
The most common and widely understood term for an autonomous car in everyday and technical contexts.
Standard term for an autonomous car. Literally 'automatic driving vehicle'. Used in news, technology, and everyday conversation.
Development of autonomous cars is progressing.
Autonomous cars will probably become widespread in the future.
When focusing on the autonomous driving technology itself, rather than the car as a product.
Refers to the concept or technology of autonomous driving. Often used in compounds like 自動運転車 or 自動運転技術.
This car supports autonomous driving.
Used in academic or engineering contexts to emphasize the vehicle's ability to operate independently using sensors and AI.
Literally 'autonomous traveling vehicle'. More technical than 自動運転車, often used in robotics and research.
This autonomous vehicle is equipped with LiDAR.
In casual conversation or marketing, shorter forms may be used.
A slightly more casual or marketing-oriented term, combining 自動運転 with the English loanword カー.
I test-drove the latest autonomous car.
自動運転車 is the standard term used in media and everyday language. 自律走行車 is more technical and often appears in robotics or academic papers. For most learners, 自動運転車 is sufficient.
You can attach 自動運転 to other nouns to describe autonomous driving features, e.g., 自動運転技術 (autonomous driving technology), 自動運転バス (autonomous bus).
自動運転のレベルは5段階に分けられる。
Autonomous driving levels are divided into five stages.