Translation guide
In Japanese, 'quality assurance' is commonly expressed using the loanword 品質保証 (hinshitsu hoshō) or the abbreviated QA. This guide covers how to talk about quality assurance in business and technical contexts.
Referring to the systematic process of ensuring products or services meet quality standards.
The standard term for quality assurance in business and manufacturing. Often used in formal contexts.
当社は品質保証に力を入れています。
Our company focuses on quality assurance.
Abbreviation commonly used in IT and software development. Pronounced as the English letters.
QAチームがバグをチェックします。
The QA team checks for bugs.
Often translated as 'quality control', but can overlap with quality assurance in some contexts. More focused on inspection and testing.
品質管理のプロセスを見直す必要があります。
We need to review the quality control process.
Referring to the department or job function responsible for quality assurance.
The quality assurance department in a company.
彼は品質保証部に所属しています。
He belongs to the quality assurance department.
Job title for a QA engineer, common in tech companies.
QAエンジニアとして採用されました。
I was hired as a QA engineer.
品質保証 (quality assurance) focuses on preventing defects through process design, while 品質管理 (quality control) focuses on identifying defects in finished products. In practice, the terms are sometimes used interchangeably in Japanese, but 品質保証 is closer to the English 'quality assurance'.
品質保証はプロセス重視、品質管理は検査重視です。
Quality assurance emphasizes process, while quality control emphasizes inspection.