Translation guide
How to express 'brake' in Japanese, covering vehicle brakes, slowing down, and figurative uses.
The device used to slow or stop a vehicle.
The most common word for a brake in cars, bicycles, etc. A loanword from English.
Please step on the brake.
The bicycle's brakes are broken.
A technical term for a braking device, used in engineering or formal contexts.
This train is equipped with a powerful brake.
The action of using a brake to slow down or stop.
The standard way to say 'to brake' or 'to apply the brakes'.
Please don't brake suddenly.
Means 'to decelerate' or 'to slow down'. More formal and not limited to using brakes.
The car gradually slowed down.
A loanword from English 'braking', used in sports or technical contexts like motor racing.
A restraint or something that hinders an activity.
Literally 'tooth stop', used figuratively for a check or brake on something undesirable.
We need policies to put a brake on inflation.
His behavior became uncontrollable (lit. the brake stopped working).
Means 'restraint' or 'control', often used in economic or social contexts.
The loanword can also be used figuratively, similar to English.
The plant or area of dense bushes. (Homonym, not related to stopping.)
The English word 'brake' is often misspelled as 'break'. In Japanese, ブレーキ (brake) and ブレイク (break) are distinct loanwords. Make sure to use the correct one.
The brake failed.
Let's take a break.
He braked before the curve.
His braking was perfect.
政府は支出の抑制に努めている。
The government is trying to put a brake on spending.
彼の存在がチームのブレーキになっている。
His presence is a brake on the team.
There are many brakes (ferns) growing in this forest.