Translation guide
A dead end is a street or passage that has no exit, or a situation where no further progress is possible. This guide covers both literal and figurative uses.
Describing a road, path, or corridor that does not lead anywhere.
Describing a project, investigation, career, or relationship that cannot move forward.
A job with no opportunities for advancement.
Literally 'a job where you can't see the future'. Natural way to describe a dead-end job.
彼は先の見えない仕事にうんざりしている。
He's fed up with his dead-end job.
行き止まり (ikidomari) is for physical dead ends (roads, corridors). 行き詰まり (ikidzumari) is for figurative dead ends (situations, negotiations). They are not interchangeable.
この道は行き止まりだ。
This road is a dead end.
研究は行き詰まっている。
The research is at a dead end.
While デッドエンド is understood, it sounds unnatural for roads. Use 行き止まり instead.
The most common and neutral word for a dead-end street or path. Used in everyday conversation and on signs.
この道は行き止まりです。
This road is a dead end.
行き止まりの標識が見えますか？
Do you see the dead end sign?
Literally 'bag alley'. Refers to a dead-end street, often narrow. Slightly more literary or formal than 行き止まり, but still common.
彼は袋小路に住んでいます。
He lives on a dead-end street.
Means 'the end of a road' or 'where a road terminates', often implying a T-junction or a wall. Can be used for dead ends, but not exclusively.
突き当たりを右に曲がってください。
Turn right at the end of the road.
The most common figurative term for a deadlock or impasse. Used for negotiations, research, personal situations, etc.
交渉は行き詰まりに達した。
The negotiations reached a dead end.
彼のキャリアは行き詰まっている。
His career is at a dead end.
Also used figuratively, like 'blind alley' in English. Suggests being trapped with no way out.
議論は袋小路に入った。
The discussion reached a dead end.
Loanword from English. Used in technical or business contexts, but less natural than native terms.
このプロジェクトはデッドエンドだ。
This project is a dead end.
More explicitly 'a job with no prospect of promotion'.
出世の見込みがない仕事を続けるのは難しい。
It's hard to keep working a dead-end job.