Translation guide
How to express the idea of repeating someone else's mistake in Japanese, from casual warnings to formal advice.
The speaker wants to say that someone is making the same mistake as another person did.
A natural, common way to say 'repeat the same mistake'. It can be used for one's own mistakes or someone else's, but context makes it clear.
彼は父と同じ過ちを繰り返した。
He repeated his father's mistake.
同じ過ちを繰り返さないでください。
Please don't repeat the same mistake.
An idiomatic expression meaning 'to repeat someone's failure' or 'to suffer the same fate'. Often used in warnings.
彼の二の舞を演じないように気をつけて。
Be careful not to repeat his mistake.
Literally 'to step in the same rut', meaning to repeat the same failure. More literary and formal.
我々は同じ轍を踏んではならない。
We must not repeat the same mistake.
The speaker is warning someone not to repeat a specific mistake that another person made.
A direct and natural way to say 'don't make the same mistake as ~'. Replace 〜 with the person's name or pronoun.
私と同じ失敗をしないでね。
Don't make the same mistake I did.
彼と同じ失敗をしないように。
Make sure you don't make the same mistake as him.
Similar to above, using 間違い (mistake/error) which can sound slightly less severe than 失敗 (failure).
同じ間違いを繰り返さないでください。
Please don't repeat the same mistake.
The speaker admits they made the same mistake as someone else.
Expresses regret about having committed the same mistake. 〜 is the person whose mistake was repeated.
また彼と同じ過ちを犯してしまった。
I ended up making the same mistake as him again.
Idiomatic way to say you repeated someone's failure, with a nuance of regret.
先輩の二の舞を演じてしまった。
I ended up repeating my senior's mistake.
過ち (あやまち) is a formal or literary word for 'mistake' often with moral weight. 失敗 (しっぱい) is a common word for 'failure' or 'mistake' in practical matters. 間違い (まちがい) is a general word for 'error' or 'mistake'. For repeating someone's mistake, 過ち is common in set phrases, but 失敗 and 間違い are also natural depending on context.
Avoid directly translating 'repeat someone's mistake' as 誰かの間違いを繰り返す. While understandable, it sounds unnatural. Use the patterns with 同じ (same) and a person reference with と, or use idiomatic expressions like 二の舞を演じる.