Translation guide
The term 'lost generation' refers to a generation of people, often characterized by disillusionment, aimlessness, or lack of direction, typically after a major event like a war. In Japanese, it is most commonly expressed using the borrowed term ロストジェネレーション, but there are also native expressions that convey similar ideas.
Referring to the generation of writers and artists who came of age during World War I, or the broader historical concept.
The direct loanword from English, widely understood in Japanese when referring to the historical Lost Generation. Often used in literary or historical contexts.
Hemingway is a writer of the Lost Generation.
A literal translation meaning 'lost generation'. It is used in some contexts but less common than the loanword for the specific historical group.
We learn about the Lost Generation after World War I.
Describing a generation that has lost opportunities, such as the Japanese 'employment ice age' generation.
In modern Japanese, this term is often used to refer to the generation that entered the job market during the 'employment ice age' (就職氷河期) in the 1990s-2000s. It carries a nuance of lost opportunities and economic struggle.
Japan's lost generation entered society during the employment ice age.
Literally 'employment ice age generation', this is a specific Japanese term for those who faced severe job shortages. It is often used interchangeably with ロストジェネレーション in economic contexts.
Describing a generation characterized by a lack of direction or meaning, often in a cultural or social sense.
Means 'wandering generation' or 'lost generation' in the sense of being directionless. It has a poetic nuance and is used in cultural commentary.
Today's lost generation cannot hold hope for the future.
ロストジェネレーション is the most common and specific term, especially for the historical Lost Generation and the Japanese employment ice age generation. 失われた世代 is a direct translation but is less frequently used and can sound more literal or literary. For the aimless generation sense, 迷える世代 is a natural choice.
The employment ice age generation has many non-regular workers.
Can be used in a broader sense for any generation that has lost something, but it is less specific than ロストジェネレーション in modern economic discussions.
The lost generation after the bubble burst faced many hardships.
The loanword can also be used in this broader sense, but it often carries the specific economic connotation in Japan.
They call themselves the lost generation.