Translation guide
The English word "landing" covers several distinct meanings. This guide breaks them down into practical categories: the act of arriving on the ground (aircraft, spacecraft, parachute), a level area at the top of stairs, a platform for boats, and the act of coming ashore. Each meaning has its own natural Japanese expressions.
Expressing the action of an airplane, helicopter, or spacecraft arriving on the ground or a surface.
The standard term for an aircraft landing. Used as a noun or with する to mean 'to land'.
The plane landed safely.
Please prepare for landing.
Specifically for landing on water, such as a seaplane or spacecraft splashdown.
The spacecraft splashed down in the ocean.
Technical term for 'touchdown' or 'ground contact', used in aviation contexts.
the moment the aircraft touches down
Describing a person or object descending by parachute and reaching the ground.
General term for landing on the ground, used for parachutists, gymnasts, or any person/object touching down.
I landed safely by parachute.
Cats land gracefully even when falling from high places.
Literally 'step down', used for landing after a flight or parachute jump, often with a sense of arrival.
Referring to the level platform at the top of a staircase or between flights of stairs.
The standard term for a landing on a staircase. It can also refer to a flat area partway up a slope or road.
I took a break on the stair landing.
A structure where boats dock or people disembark, such as a pier, wharf, or landing stage.
General term for a place where boats land or dock, like a small pier or landing stage.
I'm waiting at the boat landing.
A pier or jetty, often a wooden structure extending into the water.
A wharf or quay, often used in literary or nostalgic contexts.
The action of disembarking from a vessel onto land.
着陸 (ちゃくりく) is for aircraft landing on a runway or ground. 着地 (ちゃくち) is for a person or object landing on the ground, like a parachutist or a cat. 上陸 (じょうりく) is for coming ashore from a ship or a typhoon making landfall. Do not mix them up.
The loanword ランディング is sometimes used in specific contexts like 'landing page' (ランディングページ) or in sports, but it is not a natural translation for aircraft or stair landings. Use the appropriate Japanese term instead.
彼はパラシュートで草原に降り立った。
He landed in the meadow by parachute.
There is a window on the second-floor landing.
桟橋から船に乗り込んだ。
We boarded the boat from the pier.
We said our reluctant goodbyes at the wharf.
The typhoon is expected to make landfall tonight.
We approached the shore in a small boat and landed.