Translation guide
A distributor is a person or company that supplies goods to stores or other businesses. In Japanese, the most common equivalent is 流通業者 (ryūtsū gyōsha) for a business, but the specific term depends on the industry and role.
business distributor
car distributor
film distributor
A company or person that distributes products to retailers or other businesses.
The device in a car engine that routes high-voltage electricity to the spark plugs.
A company that handles the release and distribution of movies to theaters or streaming platforms.
A platform or company that distributes software or digital content.
Distribution platform, commonly used for digital content like apps, games, or streaming.
流通業者 (ryūtsū gyōsha) is a broader term covering the entire distribution process, while 卸売業者 (oroshiuri gyōsha) specifically refers to wholesalers who sell to retailers. In many business contexts, they overlap, but 流通業者 is safer for 'distributor' in general supply chain discussions.
Wholesaler; often used interchangeably with distributor when the focus is on selling to retailers.
We buy directly from the wholesaler/distributor.
We are the authorized distributor for this region.
Katakana loanword used in automotive contexts.
The distributor is acting up.
Technical Japanese term, less common than the katakana loanword.
The distributor needs to be inspected.
Standard term for a film distribution company.
The distributor of that movie is Toho.
Explicitly 'movie distributor', used for clarity.
Independent film distributors are increasing.
Steam is the largest game distributor/platform.
Can also refer to a software reseller or distributor, especially in B2B contexts.
We purchased it through a software distributor.