Translation guide
The quality of being cruel, violent, and merciless. In Japanese, this concept is expressed through nouns describing the act or nature of cruelty, adjectives for brutal actions or people, and idiomatic phrases emphasizing harshness.
Describing acts or the inherent quality of extreme cruelty and violence.
A common noun/adjective meaning 'brutal' or 'cruel', often used for inhuman acts or nature.
彼の残忍な行為は許せない。
His brutal acts are unforgivable.
Means 'cruelty' or 'brutality', often implying heartlessness. Very common in everyday and literary contexts.
動物への残酷な扱いは犯罪です。
Cruel treatment of animals is a crime.
Implies inhumanity and injustice, often used for outrageous brutality or wickedness.
非道なやり方で人々を苦しめた。
They tormented people in a brutal manner.
Refers to tyranny or outrageous violence, often used in historical or political contexts.
暴虐の限りを尽くした。
They committed every kind of brutality.
Focusing on the physical aspect of brutality, such as beatings or savage attacks.
General term for 'violence', often used in contexts of physical brutality.
彼は暴力で問題を解決しようとした。
He tried to solve the problem with brutality.
Means 'cruel treatment' or 'atrocious act', emphasizing the merciless nature of the brutality.
捕虜に対するむごい仕打ちが明らかになった。
The brutality against prisoners was revealed.
Idiomatic phrase meaning 'cold-blooded' or 'without mercy', literally 'having neither blood nor tears'.
彼のやり方は血も涙もない。
His methods are sheer brutality.
Describing brutal conditions, such as weather, work, or life circumstances.
Means 'severe', 'harsh', or 'brutal', often used for conditions, environments, or treatment.
過酷な労働条件に抗議した。
They protested against the brutal working conditions.
Common word for 'strict' or 'severe', can imply brutality when describing conditions or treatment.
Both mean 'cruel' or 'brutal', but 残忍 emphasizes the violent, savage aspect, while 残酷 focuses on the heartlessness and lack of mercy. 残酷 is more common in everyday speech.
There is no single Japanese word that covers all nuances of 'brutality'. Choose the word based on context: physical violence (暴力), cruel nature (残酷), or harsh conditions (過酷). Using a direct translation like ブルータリティ is not natural.
自然の厳しさに直面した。
They faced the brutality of nature.