Translation guide
The English word "background" covers several distinct concepts. This guide breaks them down into practical meanings: personal history/experience, the setting or context of a situation, the part of a picture behind the main subject, and background activity or noise. Each meaning has its own natural Japanese expressions.
When talking about someone's past, education, work experience, or family origins.
Refers to one's career or personal history, especially in professional contexts. Commonly used in resumes and introductions.
His background is very unique.
Please briefly explain your background.
Loanword from English, often used in business or casual contexts to mean personal or professional background.
His background is in the IT industry.
Focuses on one's upbringing, childhood, and family environment. More personal and emotional than 経歴.
Her background is complicated.
Refers to one's origins, lineage, or identity, often with a nuance of checking someone's past or credibility.
We need to check his background.
When describing the environment, historical context, or surrounding conditions of an event or story.
The most common and versatile word for background as context or setting. Used for historical, social, or situational background.
Please explain the background of this incident.
Refers to the circumstances or reasons behind something, often used when explaining why something happened.
Refers to the detailed sequence of events or how something came to be. Often used in formal explanations.
When referring to the visual background in art, photography, or design.
The standard word for visual background. Also used metaphorically.
Blur the background of the photo.
Shortened loanword, common in casual speech, especially for photos or stage backgrounds.
Technical term for background in visual arts, opposite of 前景 (foreground).
When referring to something happening without being the main focus, such as computer processes, music, or ambient noise.
Adverbial phrase meaning 'in the background'. Used for apps, music, or tasks running without direct attention.
The app is running in the background.
Play music in the background.
Abbreviation for 'background music'. Commonly used for music played in stores, games, or videos.
The background music in this cafe is jazz.
Literally 'behind' or 'back', used in compounds like 裏番組 (background program) or 裏で動く (operate in the background).
背景 (はいけい) is for context or setting, while 経歴 (けいれき) is for personal career history. Don't use 経歴 to describe the background of a story or picture.
Investigate the background of the incident.
Check his background (career history).
While バックグラウンド is understood, it can sound like unnecessary English. In formal writing or speech, prefer 背景 or 経歴 depending on the meaning.
She comes from a wealthy background.
Natural Japanese often avoids a direct noun and uses a phrase like 'grew up in a wealthy family'.
The background of the photo is too bright.
Let me give you some background on this issue.
It's important to understand the historical background.
Also used for context, especially in business or technical settings.
I'll share the background of the project.
家庭の事情で会社を辞めました。
I quit my job due to family circumstances (background).
このプロジェクトの経緯を説明します。
I will explain the background of this project.
The background of this painting is beautiful.
You can see a mountain in the background.
後景を暗くして被写体を強調する。
Darken the background to emphasize the subject.
裏でデータを処理している。
It's processing data in the background.