Translation guide
This guide covers how to express that something is reduced, decreased, or cut down in Japanese. It organizes expressions by the type of reduction: general decrease, price cuts, speed reduction, weight loss, and abstract reduction.
To say that something (amount, number, level, etc.) is reduced or decreases.
Intransitive verb meaning 'to decrease', 'to diminish'. Used for quantities, numbers, etc. Natural for everyday conversation.
The population is decreasing.
貯金が減った。
My savings have decreased.
Formal suru-verb meaning 'to decrease', 'to decline'. Common in news, reports, and formal contexts.
売上が減少した。
Sales decreased.
Formal term for reduction, often used in technical or business contexts (e.g., cost reduction).
コストが低減された。
Costs were reduced.
To say that a price is reduced or discounted.
Literally 'become cheap'. The most natural way to say a price has been reduced in casual speech.
この服、安くなったね。
This clothing got cheaper, didn't it?
Passive form of 'to lower the price'. Used when the price is reduced by someone (e.g., a store).
来月から家賃が値下げされる。
The rent will be reduced from next month.
Means 'to be discounted'. Often used for percentage or fixed amount discounts.
全商品が20%割引されています。
All items are discounted by 20%.
To say that speed is reduced or slowed down.
Literally 'speed falls'. Common for vehicles, internet, work pace, etc.
坂道でスピードが落ちた。
The speed decreased on the slope.
Formal/technical term for deceleration. Used in traffic, engineering, etc.
車が減速した。
The car decelerated.
To say that body weight is reduced.
Standard way to say 'lose weight'. Intransitive, focuses on the weight itself decreasing.
最近、体重が減った。
I've lost weight recently.
Intransitive verb meaning 'to become thin/slim'. More about body shape than just numbers.
彼はだいぶ痩せたね。
He's gotten quite thin, hasn't he?
To say that something intangible like stress, burden, or risk is reduced.
Passive of 'to mitigate, alleviate'. Common for stress, burden, pain, etc.
ストレスが軽減された。
Stress was reduced.
Can also be used for abstract things like stress or worries in casual speech.
心配事が減った。
My worries have decreased.
Many Japanese verbs have transitive/intransitive pairs. 'Be reduced' is intransitive (something reduces by itself or is in a reduced state). Do not confuse with transitive verbs like 減らす (to reduce something). For example, 'I reduced my expenses' is 支出を減らした, not 支出が減った.