Translation guide
The English word 'rake' can refer to a garden tool, the action of using that tool, gathering or collecting things, or a dissolute person. This guide covers the most common and useful Japanese expressions for each meaning.
The long-handled tool with teeth used for gathering leaves or smoothing soil.
The standard word for a garden rake. Literally 'bear paw', referring to the shape.
I gathered the fallen leaves with a rake.
Loanword from English 'rake', used especially for specialized or Western-style rakes.
I use a rake for garden maintenance.
To gather, smooth, or clear something using a rake.
The most natural way to say 'to rake' as an action. かく means to scratch or rake.
I raked the fallen leaves in the garden.
Literally 'gather with a rake', emphasizing the collecting aspect.
I raked up the dead grass and threw it away.
Used for smoothing surfaces like gravel or soil, often in landscaping or sports field maintenance.
I raked the field smooth.
To gather or collect something in large amounts, often money or information.
Means to scrape together or rake in, often used for money, people, or resources.
He raked in campaign funds.
To make a killing or rake in profits, often with a nuance of quick or easy money.
He raked it in on the stock market.
To sweep up or rake in everything, like winning all prizes or collecting all items.
He raked in all the awards.
To search or comb through an area or information meticulously.
A person who leads an immoral or dissolute life, often a womanizer.
A person devoted to pleasure and dissipation; a libertine or rake.
He was a rake in his youth.
A debauchee or profligate; emphasizes wasteful and immoral living.
A playboy or man about town; less severe than 'rake' but can imply a womanizer.
There is no single Japanese verb that directly translates 'to rake'. Use phrases like 熊手でかく or 熊手で集める depending on the nuance.
熊手 is the traditional Japanese rake, often bamboo or metal with a long handle. レーキ is a Western-style rake, often used for leveling soil or gravel. In everyday gardening, 熊手 is more common.
They raked through past records.
The protagonist of the novel is a rake.
He's a rake and has no intention of marrying.