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.
ブレーキを踏んでください。
Please step on the brake.
自転車のブレーキが壊れている。
The bicycle's brakes are broken.
A technical term for a braking device, used in engineering or formal contexts.
この列車には強力な制動機が搭載されている。
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'.
急にブレーキをかけないでください。
Please don't brake suddenly.
彼はカーブの前でブレーキをかけた。
He braked before the curve.
Means 'to decelerate' or 'to slow down'. More formal and not limited to using brakes.
車は徐々に減速した。
The car gradually slowed down.
A restraint or something that hinders an activity.
Literally 'tooth stop', used figuratively for a check or brake on something undesirable.
インフレに歯止めをかける政策が必要だ。
We need policies to put a brake on inflation.
彼の行動に歯止めがきかなくなった。
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.)
Means 'thicket' or 'bush'. Used for a brake as in a dense growth of plants.
ウサギが藪の中に隠れた。
The rabbit hid in the brake.
Refers to ferns in general, including bracken. Use when 'brake' means the plant.
この森にはシダがたくさん生えている。
There are many brakes (ferns) growing in this forest.
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.
ブレーキが故障した。
The brake failed.
ブレイクタイムにしましょう。
Let's take a break.
A loanword from English 'braking', used in sports or technical contexts like motor racing.
彼のブレーキングは完璧だった。
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.