Translation guide
Clothing worn outdoors, such as coats, jackets, and other garments designed to be worn over other clothes.
Clothing worn over other clothes, especially outdoors
General term for outerwear, jacket, or coat. Commonly used in daily conversation.
It's cold, so please put on a jacket.
Take off your jacket and make yourself comfortable.
Loanword from English 'outer', used in fashion contexts to refer to outerwear like coats and jackets.
Formal or literary term for overcoat or cloak. Less common in everyday speech.
A heavy garment worn for warmth, typically long-sleeved and extending below the hips
The most common word for a coat, used for various styles (e.g., winter coat, trench coat).
A short, light garment worn on the upper body, often with a front opening
General term for jacket, including suit jackets, casual jackets, etc.
A coat worn to protect from rain
上着 (うわぎ) is a broad term for any outer garment worn on the upper body, including jackets, coats, and cardigans. コート is specifically a coat, usually heavier and longer. ジャケット is a jacket, typically lighter and shorter. In casual fashion contexts, アウター is also used as a catch-all for fashionable outerwear.
The verb 着る is used for putting on or wearing upper-body garments, including all types of outerwear. For example: コートを着る (to wear a coat).
このアウターは軽くて暖かい。
This outerwear is light and warm.
彼は黒い外套を羽織っていた。
He wore a black overcoat.
I bought a winter coat.
You'll catch a cold if you don't wear a coat.
Specifically an overcoat, a heavy coat worn over other clothes in cold weather.
I went out wearing an overcoat.
This jacket is perfect for spring.
Just throwing on a jacket makes you look stylish.
Traditional Japanese jacket worn over a kimono. Not used for Western-style jackets.
He wore a haori over his kimono.
Standard term for raincoat.
It looks like rain, so let's bring a raincoat.
Traditional Japanese raincoat, often made of waterproof fabric or plastic. Can sound slightly old-fashioned.
When I was a child, I wore a raincoat to school.