Translation guide
A business model where participants earn money from their own sales and from sales made by people they recruit. In Japanese, the most common term is マルチ商法, but it often carries a negative connotation similar to 'pyramid scheme'. Other terms exist for legal or neutral descriptions.
The common way to refer to multi-level marketing in everyday Japanese, often implying a dubious or illegal scheme.
The most widely recognized term. 'マルチ' is short for 'multi-level'. It frequently appears in news about scams and consumer warnings, so it has a strong negative nuance.
That company got into trouble for multi-level marketing.
A direct loanword from English. It is used in business contexts and sounds more neutral or technical than マルチ商法, but is less common in everyday speech.
Multi-level marketing is a legal business model.
Literally 'network business'. Often used as a euphemism for MLM by companies themselves to avoid the negative image of マルチ商法. It can sound evasive or marketing-speak.
She was invited to join a network business.
The official term used in Japanese laws and regulations to describe a specific type of multi-level marketing that is legally permitted.
The legal term defined in the 'Act on Specified Commercial Transactions'. It refers to a system where a seller recruits new sellers who then sell products and recruit further sellers, forming a chain. This is the precise term used in legal documents.
Chain sales transactions are regulated by the Specified Commercial Transactions Act.
When the English term 'multi-level marketing' is used to mean an illegal pyramid scheme where income primarily comes from recruiting rather than product sales.
Literally 'mouse scheme', referring to the exponential growth of a pyramid structure. This is the standard term for an illegal pyramid scheme. It is distinct from legal MLM, but often confused in casual speech.
Pyramid schemes are prohibited by law.
A direct loanword for 'pyramid scheme'. Used in business or news contexts, but less common than ねずみ講 in everyday language.
That business was criticized as a pyramid scheme.
In Japanese, マルチ商法 almost always implies a scam or something shady. If you want to talk about MLM in a neutral or positive way, use マルチレベルマーケティング or ネットワークビジネス, but be aware that many Japanese people will still be skeptical.
Multi-level marketing is often akin to fraud.
Legally, 連鎖販売取引 (MLM) is distinct from ねずみ講 (pyramid scheme). The former involves actual product sales, while the latter relies solely on recruitment fees. However, in casual conversation, マルチ商法 is often used interchangeably with ねずみ講.
Multi-level marketing and pyramid schemes are different, but they are easily confused.