Translation guide
This concept refers to a marriage that takes place primarily because of an unplanned pregnancy. In Japanese, this is often called a 'shotgun wedding' or described with phrases emphasizing the pregnancy as the reason for marriage.
To describe a marriage that happens because the couple is expecting a baby, often implying social pressure or haste.
A very common, casual term literally meaning 'oops, we got married'. It implies the pregnancy was unplanned and led to marriage. Widely understood and used in everyday conversation.
二人はできちゃった結婚だったんだって。
I heard they had a shotgun wedding.
A more positive, euphemistic term meaning 'blessed marriage'. It frames the pregnancy as a gift and is often used in formal contexts or by the couple themselves to avoid negative connotations.
An abbreviation of できちゃった結婚, commonly used in magazines and TV. Slightly more casual and modern.
A neutral, descriptive phrase meaning 'to get married taking the pregnancy as an opportunity'. Used in news reports or formal explanations.
彼らは妊娠を機に結婚することにした。
They decided to get married because of the pregnancy.
できちゃった結婚 is casual and can sound flippant or negative, implying the marriage was unplanned. 授かり婚 is a softer, more positive term that emphasizes the child as a blessing. Use 授かり婚 in polite or formal situations, or when you want to avoid sounding judgmental.
Directly translating 'marriage due to unintended pregnancy' as 意図しない妊娠による結婚 would sound unnatural and overly clinical. Use the established terms above instead.
私たちは授かり婚です。
We got married because we were blessed with a child.
There are a lot of celebrity shotgun weddings lately, huh.