Translation guide
How to express 'hold down' in Japanese, covering physical restraint, securing objects, keeping something low, and maintaining a job or position.
To use force to keep someone or something from moving, often by pressing them against a surface.
The most common and natural way to say 'hold someone down' by applying physical pressure. Implies forceful restraint.
The police held the suspect down on the ground.
He desperately held down his struggling younger brother.
Often used for subduing and restraining a person, especially in the context of capturing or stopping someone. Slightly more formal or dramatic.
The security guard held down the suspicious person.
Similar to 押さえつける, but emphasizes holding someone down and keeping them contained, often for a longer duration.
The wrestler held his opponent down on the mat.
To fasten or weigh something down to prevent it from shifting, blowing away, or coming loose.
General term for fixing or securing something in place. Works for holding down objects with tape, weights, clamps, etc.
I held the sheet down with stones so it wouldn't blow away.
Please hold down the tablecloth with clips.
Specifically means to place a weight on something to hold it down. Common for papers, fabrics, or light objects.
A versatile verb meaning to press or hold something down with your hand or an object. Can be used for temporarily securing items.
To prevent something from rising or increasing, such as costs, sound, or feelings.
Widely used for suppressing, controlling, or keeping something down. Applies to prices, emotions, noise, etc.
The government is trying to hold down prices.
Explicitly means 'to keep low,' often used for costs, volume, or profile.
Please hold down the volume.
Formal term for restraining or curbing something, often used in economic or technical contexts.
Policies to hold down inflation are needed.
To manage to stay in a job, especially when it is difficult or one is unreliable.
The most natural way to express 'hold down a job' in the sense of keeping it over time. Literally 'continue a job.'
He can't seem to hold down a job.
A more formal way to say 'maintain employment.' Used in serious or written contexts.
Casual loanword expression, often used among younger people. Not suitable for formal situations.
Looks like he can finally hold down a job.
To press and keep a button or key pressed for a period of time.
Both are read おさえる, but 押さえる is used for physical holding/pressing, while 抑える is for suppressing abstract things like emotions, prices, or noise. For 'hold down' in a physical sense, use 押さえる or compounds like 押さえつける.
I held down the lid of the box with my hand.
He couldn't hold back his laughter.
Do not directly translate 'hold down' as 押さえる when talking about employment. Use 仕事を続ける or similar phrases. Saying 仕事を押さえる would mean physically pressing a job, which is nonsensical.
I put a paperweight on the documents to hold them down.
風でめくれるので、本でページを押さえておいた。
I held down the page with a book because the wind was flipping it.
He couldn't hold down his anger.
It became difficult to hold down a job due to health reasons.