Translation guide
The English word 'mission' covers several related ideas: an important task or assignment, a strong sense of purpose, a diplomatic/religious posting, and a military operation. Japanese uses different words depending on the nuance. This guide helps you choose the right one.
A specific job or duty someone is sent to do, often with a sense of importance or purpose.
The most direct equivalent for a serious, often formal, duty or calling. Implies a sense of being entrusted with something important.
His mission is to achieve world peace.
I have a mission to make this project succeed.
Often used for assigned duties in professional, military, or organizational contexts. More task-oriented than 使命.
He is on a top-secret mission.
The team's mission is to analyze the data.
Loanword from English, common in business, tech, and casual contexts. Often used for company missions or game objectives.
Our company's mission is to improve customer satisfaction.
It's hard to clear this game's mission.
A strong feeling that one has a particular duty or goal in life.
A group of people sent to a foreign country for diplomatic or religious work, or the building where they work.
A specific military task or operation.
使命 (shimei) implies a higher calling or entrusted duty, often with moral weight. 任務 (ninmu) is a concrete assigned task, common in professional or military settings. ミッション (misshon) is a casual loanword used in business, games, and everyday speech.
Fulfill one's mission as a doctor.
Carry out the assigned mission.
Sympathize with the company's mission.
While ミッション is widely understood, it can sound overly casual or business-jargon-like in formal contexts. For serious or traditional topics, prefer 使命 or 任務.
ボランティア活動が彼の生きがいだ。
Volunteering is his mission in life.
He works at the American mission.
The soldiers went on a dangerous mission.