Translation guide
The English word 'retention' covers several distinct meanings: keeping something, remembering information, holding back something, and continuing to employ or keep someone. This guide organizes natural Japanese expressions by these practical meanings.
Expressing the act of keeping, maintaining, or not losing something (e.g., customers, heat, moisture, data).
General term for maintaining or retaining something, often used in technical or formal contexts (e.g., data retention, moisture retention).
The data retention period is one year.
This cream is excellent for retaining skin moisture.
Focuses on sustaining or keeping something at a certain level, often used for customer retention, status quo, or physical conditions.
Customer retention is key to business.
Implies possession and keeping, often used for assets, stocks, or qualifications.
Our company retains many patents.
Legal or formal term for withholding or reserving rights, often used in contracts.
Please specify the retention of rights.
Expressing the ability to remember or keep information in memory.
General term for memory or remembering. Can be used as a noun or verb (記憶する).
I'm not good at vocabulary retention.
Sleep is important for memory retention.
Used in cognitive psychology or formal contexts for memory retention.
Everyday phrase meaning 'to remember' or 'to retain in memory'. More natural in conversation than 記憶する.
I still retain his name in memory.
Expressing the act of not releasing or keeping something from moving forward (e.g., water, urine, information).
Used in medical or technical contexts for retaining bodily fluids.
Urinary retention is the inability to retain urine.
Often used for water retention in soil or reservoirs.
Verb meaning to stop or hold back something, often used for attention or emotions.
Expressing the act of keeping employees or members from leaving.
保持 (ほじ) is general 'retention' of something you have. 維持 (いじ) emphasizes sustaining a state or level. 保有 (ほゆう) stresses possession and is common for assets. For memory, 記憶 (きおく) is more specific than 保持.
Avoid directly translating 'retention' as リテンション in most contexts; it's mainly used as a loanword in business jargon (e.g., リテンション率 for retention rate). For everyday use, choose the appropriate Japanese word based on meaning.
Measure the retention time of information.
This dam was built for water retention.
彼は怒りを心に留めた。
He retained his anger inside.
The company tried to retain him.