Translation guide
To avoid work or effort; to be lazy or negligent. In Japanese, this concept is expressed through various verbs and phrases that describe laziness, negligence, or taking it easy, often with different nuances of intentionality and context.
To not work hard, to be idle, or to avoid one's duties.
A very common casual verb meaning to skip work, school, or duties; to slack off. Derived from 'sabotage'. Used widely in everyday speech.
彼は仕事をサボって、ゲームをしていた。
He was slacking off from work and playing games.
今日は学校をサボりたい気分だ。
I feel like slacking off from school today.
To be lazy, to idle, to neglect one's duties. A standard verb for laziness or slacking off, slightly more formal than サボる.
怠けずに勉強しなさい。
Study without slacking off.
彼は一日中怠けていた。
He was slacking off all day.
To be lazy, sluggish, or unmotivated; often implies lounging around without doing anything productive. More about a state of laziness than intentionally avoiding work.
休みの日はついだらけてしまう。
On my days off, I end up slacking off.
暑さでだらけて何もできない。
I'm slacking off because of the heat and can't do anything.
To cut corners, to slack off by not putting in full effort. Often used when someone does the minimum required or skips steps.
彼は仕事で手を抜いている。
He's slacking off at work (cutting corners).
手を抜かずに最後までやり遂げよう。
Let's finish it without slacking off.
Literally 'to sell oil', an idiomatic expression meaning to waste time, loaf on the job, or slack off by chatting or dawdling. Somewhat old-fashioned but still understood.
彼はよく油を売っている。
He often slacks off (wastes time chatting).
To fail to do what one is supposed to do, often over a period of time.
To neglect, to be negligent, to fail to do one's duty. More formal and serious than 怠ける. Often used in official or written contexts.
彼は注意を怠ったために事故が起きた。
The accident happened because he slacked off on paying attention.
勉強を怠ると成績が下がる。
If you slack off on studying, your grades will drop.
Also used for neglecting duties, especially in casual contexts. See above.
To intentionally rest or not work hard, often with a positive or neutral connotation of recharging.
To take it easy, relax, or do things at a leisurely pace. Not necessarily negative; can be a deliberate break.
今日はのんびりしよう。
Let's slack off (take it easy) today.
休日は家でのんびりするのが好きだ。
I like to slack off at home on my days off.
To take it slow, to relax. Similar to のんびりする but can also imply doing something without rushing.
たまにはゆっくりしよう。
Let's slack off (take it slow) once in a while.
To become less diligent over time, to lose one's initial effort.
To slacken, to become loose; metaphorically, to lose focus or discipline, to slack off. Often used when someone's effort wanes.
試合の後半で気がたるんだ。
I slacked off in the second half of the game.
たるんだ気持ちを引き締めろ。
Tighten up your slacking attitude.
To experience a mid-term slump, to slack off in the middle of a period (e.g., a semester, a project).
学期の中だるみに注意しよう。
Let's be careful not to slack off mid-semester.
サボる is casual and implies intentionally skipping or avoiding something. 怠ける is a general term for being lazy or idle. 怠る is more formal and implies negligence or failure to fulfill a duty, often with serious consequences.
怠ける sounds like laziness or idleness, not criminal negligence. For serious failure to act, use 怠る or other legal terms.
I got scolded for slacking off on the meeting.