Translation guide
Describes a situation, person, or thing that is no longer manageable, restrained, or following expected limits. Japanese expressions vary by what is out of control: emotions, behavior, vehicles, systems, etc.
Describing a person, child, crowd, or one's own feelings that cannot be restrained.
Literally 'cannot handle with one's hands.' Used for situations or people that are beyond one's ability to manage.
あの子は手に負えない。
That child is out of control.
状況が手に負えなくなった。
The situation got out of control.
Literally 'running wild.' Often used for vehicles, but also metaphorically for emotions, imagination, or organizations acting recklessly.
感情が暴走してしまった。
My emotions ran out of control.
暴走する想像力
imagination running wild
Means 'cannot be suppressed.' Used for urges, laughter, anger, etc.
怒りが抑えきれなかった。
I couldn't control my anger.
Literally 'the brake doesn't work.' Used when something cannot be stopped once it starts, like inflation or a bad habit.
物価の上昇に歯止めがきかない。
Price increases are out of control.
A car, plane, or device that is no longer responding to controls.
Technical term for 'uncontrollable' or 'out of control.' Used in engineering, aviation, and formal reports.
飛行機が制御不能に陥った。
The airplane became out of control.
Common for vehicles running out of control, especially cars or trains.
車が暴走して歩道に突っ込んだ。
The car went out of control and crashed onto the sidewalk.
Direct loanword phrase meaning 'lose control.' Natural in spoken Japanese.
ハンドル操作を誤ってコントロールを失った。
I mishandled the steering wheel and lost control.
A party, project, or crisis that escalates beyond management.
Means 'unable to be brought under control' or 'irretrievable.' Often used for chaotic situations.
会議は収拾がつかない状態になった。
The meeting got out of control.
Literally 'cannot lay a hand on it.' Implies a situation so chaotic you don't know where to start.
部屋が散らかりすぎて手がつけられない。
The room is so messy it's out of control.
Weeds, rumors, fire, or a phenomenon expanding without restraint.
Used for things that keep increasing or spreading without stopping.
うわさが歯止めがきかずに広がった。
The rumor spread out of control.
Means 'spread widely,' often for disease, weeds, or bad influences. Formal.
雑草が蔓延している。
Weeds are growing out of control.
手に負えない focuses on the speaker's inability to handle something, while 収拾がつかない describes a situation that has already become chaotic and cannot be fixed.
この問題は私には手に負えない。
This problem is beyond my ability to handle.
会場は収拾がつかない混乱に陥った。
The venue fell into uncontrollable chaos.
Avoid directly translating 'out of control' as コントロールの外 (kontorōru no soto). It is not natural Japanese. Use the phrases above depending on context.