Translation guide
A device for blowing air, used to stoke fires or in musical instruments. The most common Japanese word is ふいご, but the specific term depends on the type and context.
A tool that expands and contracts to blow air, typically used to intensify a fire.
The standard word for bellows used in blacksmithing, traditional cooking, or heating. Can be written as 鞴 or 吹子, but ふいご is most common.
My grandfather used bellows to start the charcoal fire.
鍛冶屋がふいごで炉の温度を上げている。
The blacksmith is raising the furnace temperature with bellows.
An alternative kanji spelling for ふいご, literally 'blowing child'. Less common but still understood.
昔の吹き子は木と革でできていた。
Old bellows were made of wood and leather.
The kanji for ふいご, used in technical or historical contexts. Rarely used alone in modern writing.
この鞴は江戸時代のものだ。
These bellows are from the Edo period.
The part of a musical instrument that pumps air to produce sound.
Also used for musical instrument bellows, though sometimes specified as 楽器のふいご (がっきのふいご).
アコーディオンのふいごを押したり引いたりして音を出す。
You produce sound by pushing and pulling the accordion's bellows.
Literally 'snake belly', refers to the pleated, expandable part of an accordion or similar instrument. Often used in compound words like 蛇腹楽器 (じゃばらがっき).
The accordion-like light-tight enclosure on a view camera.
The standard term for camera bellows. Often used in photography contexts.
大判カメラの蛇腹を伸ばしてピントを合わせる。
Extend the bellows of the large-format camera to focus.
Describing something that expands and contracts rhythmically, like bellows.
Used metaphorically to describe breathing or mechanical motion.
彼の胸はふいごのように激しく上下した。
His chest heaved violently like bellows.
For most everyday references to bellows (fireplace, forge, etc.), ふいご is the safest and most widely understood word. Use 蛇腹 for accordion or camera bellows.
The accordion's bellows tore, so I sent it for repair.