Translation guide
The failure to take proper care, often leading to harm or damage. In Japanese, this concept is expressed through nouns describing carelessness or legal neglect, verbs for neglecting duties, and adjectives for being careless.
Describing a lack of proper attention or care in everyday situations.
The most common and general term for carelessness or inattention. Can be used in both casual and formal contexts.
The accident happened due to his negligence.
Even a little negligence can sometimes cause big problems.
Implies negligence due to laziness or shirking responsibility. Often used for neglecting duties.
He was fired for negligence of duty.
Carelessness from letting one's guard down, often leading to mistakes or accidents. Common in warnings.
If you let your guard down, you'll make a mistake.
Unpreparedness is one's greatest enemy. (proverb)
Referring to a breach of duty or failure to meet a standard of care, especially in legal, medical, or professional contexts.
The standard legal term for negligence, implying fault or error. Used in contexts like traffic accidents or medical malpractice.
The doctor's negligence was acknowledged.
He was indicted for negligent driving causing injury.
Loanword from English, used specifically for neglect in caregiving, such as child neglect or elder neglect.
Literally 'breach of duty'. Used in legal contexts to describe negligence as a failure to fulfill an obligation.
Focusing on the act of failing to do something that should be done.
Verb meaning to neglect or be negligent in doing something. Often used with nouns like 注意 (attention) or 義務 (duty).
The accident occurred because they neglected to pay attention.
To neglect or treat something as unimportant, often leaving it undone or half-done.
You must not neglect safety measures.
Casual verb meaning to leave something unattended or neglected, often implying abandonment.
不注意 is general carelessness, while 過失 is specifically legal or formal negligence implying fault. In everyday conversation, 不注意 is more common. In legal documents, 過失 is the standard term.
There is no single Japanese word that covers all uses of 'negligence'. Choose the term based on context: carelessness (不注意), legal fault (過失), or neglect of duty (怠慢/怠る).
Child neglect is a serious social problem.
They were held liable for breach of the duty of care.
He neglected his duties.
He neglected his work and went out to play.