Translation guide
The act of cutting away dead or overgrown branches or stems to improve health, shape, or productivity. In Japanese, the most common word is 剪定 (せんてい), but other terms exist for specific contexts like trimming, thinning, or aesthetic pruning.
The standard term for pruning plants for health, shape, or fruit production.
The most common and general term for pruning trees and shrubs. It implies cutting branches for health, shape, or fruit production. Used as a noun or a suru-verb (剪定する).
庭木の剪定を業者に頼んだ。
I hired a professional to prune the garden trees.
バラの剪定は冬に行います。
Pruning roses is done in winter.
Refers to trimming or clipping hedges, bushes, or grass to maintain a neat shape. Often implies using shears or clippers for a uniform cut, like topiary or hedge trimming.
生け垣の刈り込みをした。
I trimmed the hedge.
Specifically means cutting off lower branches of a tree, often for forestry or to let light through. More technical and less common in everyday gardening.
杉の枝打ちは大変な作業だ。
Pruning the lower branches of cedar trees is hard work.
Pruning for artistic shape in traditional Japanese gardening or bonsai.
Still the standard term, but in bonsai or niwaki (garden tree sculpting) it carries a nuance of artistic shaping.
盆栽の剪定には技術がいる。
Pruning bonsai requires skill.
Literally 'branch arranging', used in bonsai and niwaki for shaping branches aesthetically. More specific than 剪定.
松の整枝を習っている。
I am learning how to shape pine branches.
Using 'pruning' figuratively to mean reducing or cutting away unnecessary parts.
Means 'organizing' or 'sorting out', often used metaphorically for pruning unnecessary items, data, or tasks. Not a direct translation but conveys the idea of trimming down.
不要なデータを整理する。
Prune unnecessary data.
Means 'reduction' or 'cutting down', used for budgets, staff, or resources. Stronger than 整理, implying elimination.
Literally 'to trim/clip', can be used metaphorically for cutting down text or content, but less common.
剪定 (せんてい) is for selective cutting of branches to improve tree health or shape. 刈り込み (かりこみ) is for shearing hedges or bushes to maintain a neat outline, like using hedge trimmers.
Pruning refers to branches and stems, not picking flowers. For cutting flowers, use 花を摘む (はなをつむ) or 切り花 (きりばな).
経費を削減する必要がある。
We need to prune expenses.
I pruned the text to make it shorter.