Translation guide
A machine gun is a fully automatic firearm that fires rifle-caliber rounds. In Japanese, the most common term is 機関銃 (きかんじゅう), but specific types and slang exist.
The standard, neutral word for a machine gun, used in military, news, and everyday contexts.
The most common and formal term for a machine gun. Covers all types from light to heavy.
敵の機関銃が激しく発砲した。
The enemy machine guns fired fiercely.
Loanword from English. Common in casual speech, movies, and games. Slightly less formal than 機関銃.
映画でマシンガンを撃ちまくるシーンがかっこいい。
The scene where they fire machine guns wildly in the movie is cool.
A portable machine gun used by infantry, often with a bipod.
Standard military term for a light machine gun.
分隊は軽機関銃で援護射撃を行った。
The squad provided covering fire with a light machine gun.
A larger, often vehicle-mounted or tripod-mounted machine gun firing powerful rounds.
Standard term for a heavy machine gun, such as the M2 Browning.
陣地には重機関銃が据え付けられていた。
A heavy machine gun was set up in the position.
A compact automatic weapon firing pistol-caliber rounds. Often confused with machine guns by non-experts.
Technical term for submachine gun. Used in military and police contexts.
特殊部隊は短機関銃を装備している。
The special forces are equipped with submachine guns.
Loanword for submachine gun. Common in games and casual talk.
ゲームでサブマシンガンを使うのが好きだ。
I like using the submachine gun in the game.
Casual or slang expressions for machine gun, often used in manga, anime, or informal speech.
Literally 'machine cannon', often used for automatic cannons on aircraft or vehicles, but sometimes loosely for machine guns in fiction.
戦闘機の機関砲が火を噴いた。
The fighter's machine cannon spat fire.
Onomatopoeia for machine gun fire, often used in manga sound effects. Not a noun for the weapon itself.
Only used as a sound effect, not to refer to the weapon.
「ダダダダ！」と機関銃が火を吹く。
"Rat-tat-tat!" the machine gun fires.
機関銃 is the formal, standard term used in news, military documents, and technical contexts. マシンガン is a loanword that feels more casual and is common in entertainment. Both refer to the same weapon, but 機関銃 is preferred in serious writing.
新聞は「機関銃」と報じたが、ゲームでは「マシンガン」と呼ばれる。
The newspaper reported '機関銃', but in the game it's called 'マシンガン'.
In English, 'machine gun' often implies a fully automatic rifle, but in Japanese, 機関銃 typically refers to belt-fed or squad-support weapons. An assault rifle like the AK-47 is usually called 自動小銃 (じどうしょうじゅう) or アサルトライフル. Using 機関銃 for an assault rifle may cause confusion.
AK-47は機関銃ではなく自動小銃です。
The AK-47 is not a machine gun; it's an automatic rifle.