Translation guide
The English phrasal verb 'cut out' has several distinct meanings. This guide covers the most common ones for learners: removing something by cutting, stopping a habit or behavior, a motor suddenly stopping, leaving quickly, and being suited for something.
To remove a shape or piece from a larger material using scissors or a knife.
General verb for cutting something out, such as a picture from a magazine or a shape from paper.
雑誌から好きな写真を切り抜いた。
I cut out a favorite photo from a magazine.
Emphasizes cutting off and taking a piece; often used for cutting out a section or coupon.
クーポンを切り取って持ってきてください。
Please cut out the coupon and bring it.
To hollow out or cut out a hole, often in wood or a solid object.
木を刳り貫いてお面を作った。
I cut out a mask from wood.
To completely stop a habit, activity, or consumption of something, often for health or moral reasons.
The most common and versatile way to say 'stop' or 'quit' a habit. Can be used with a noun or verb in dictionary form + の.
タバコをやめることにした。
I decided to cut out smoking.
甘いものをやめようと思っている。
I'm thinking of cutting out sweets.
Stronger, more formal word for cutting off or abstaining from something, often used with alcohol, cigarettes, or bad habits.
酒を断って健康を取り戻した。
I cut out alcohol and regained my health.
Similar to 断つ, but can also mean to sever ties or cut off supply. For habits, 断つ is more common.
悪い習慣を絶つのは難しい。
It's hard to cut out bad habits.
When an engine, motor, or machine stops working abruptly, often due to a fault.
General intransitive verb for stopping. For engines, it implies a sudden halt.
エンジンが急に止まった。
The engine suddenly cut out.
Colloquial abbreviation of 'engine stall', used specifically for car engines stalling.
坂道でエンストしちゃった。
The car cut out on the hill.
Formal term for stopping or halting, used in technical contexts.
モーターが突然停止した。
The motor cut out suddenly.
To depart or go away hastily, often used in informal commands.
To leave a place, often with a nuance of walking away. Can be used in commands.
ここから立ち去れ！
Cut out from here!
To go out and leave; common in casual commands like 'Get out!'
出て行け！
Cut it out! (Leave!)
Literally 'disappear', used rudely to tell someone to get lost.
消えろ！
Cut out! (Get lost!)
To have the necessary qualities or aptitude for a particular role or task. Often used in the negative: 'not cut out for'.
Means 'is suited for' or 'is fit for'. Use with に to indicate the role. Negative form: 向いていない.
彼は教師に向いている。
He is cut out to be a teacher.
私は営業の仕事には向いていない。
I'm not cut out for sales work.
More formal way to say 'have aptitude for'. Often used in career contexts.
彼女にはリーダーの適性がある。
She is cut out to be a leader.
English 'cut out' for stopping a habit cannot be directly translated with cutting verbs like 切る. Use やめる or 断つ instead.
タバコを切る (incorrect)
cut out cigarettes (literal, unnatural)
切り抜く focuses on cutting out a shape from within a material (like a picture from a page), while 切り取る emphasizes cutting off and removing a piece (like a coupon from a sheet).
新聞から記事を切り抜く
cut out an article from the newspaper
申込書を切り取る
cut out the application form