Translation guide
The English word "confidence" covers several distinct concepts in Japanese. This guide breaks them down by meaning: self-assurance, trust in others, and certainty about facts.
Expressing confidence in oneself, one's skills, or one's actions.
He has confidence in his own abilities.
Please speak with more confidence.
Means 'full of confidence' or 'brimming with confidence'. Often used to describe someone's demeanor.
She started her presentation full of confidence.
Refers to having nerve, guts, or boldness. It's confidence in the face of fear or risk, not necessarily skill-based.
He has the confidence (nerve) to speak in public.
While primarily meaning 'conviction' or 'certainty', it can sometimes overlap with a strong, unwavering self-belief. Less common for everyday self-confidence.
He is confident of success. (He has a firm belief he will succeed.)
Expressing confidence in another person, an institution, or a thing's reliability.
The standard way to say you have confidence (trust) in someone or something. 信頼 means trust or reliance.
I have complete confidence in him.
I have confidence in the quality of this product.
Similar to 信頼, but often implies trust based on past performance or reputation. 信用できる means 'trustworthy' or 'reliable'.
Means 'can be entrusted (with something)'. It expresses confidence in someone's ability to handle a task.
I have confidence in him to handle this job. (I can entrust this job to him.)
Expressing confidence that something is true or will happen.
The primary word for conviction or firm belief in a fact. Used in phrases like 確信している (I am confident/certain).
I am confident that he will come.
Literally 'there is no mistake'. A very common, slightly casual way to express certainty or confidence in a statement.
While primarily for self-confidence, it can also be used to express confidence in a prediction or knowledge, especially when the speaker has personal stake or expertise.
自信 (じしん) is confidence in oneself or one's abilities. 確信 (かくしん) is confidence in a fact or outcome. You can have 自信 about your presentation skills, but 確信 that the meeting will start on time.
English often uses 'confidence' where Japanese would use a more specific term. For example, 'consumer confidence' is 消費者信頼感 (しょうひしゃしんらいかん), not 自信. Always consider the underlying meaning.
He gained confidence after the training.
I have every confidence in her judgment.
I can say with confidence that it's true.
彼の言うことは信用できない。
I have no confidence in what he says. (I can't trust his words.)
I can't be confident about the accuracy of that information.
There's no doubt he'll win. (I'm confident he'll win.)
I'm confident that this data is correct.