Translation guide
The English word 'surrealism' refers to an artistic and literary movement, but is also used loosely to describe bizarre, dreamlike, or irrational situations. This guide covers both the specific art term and the everyday descriptive use.
Referring to the 20th-century avant-garde movement that sought to release the creative potential of the unconscious mind.
The standard loanword for the artistic movement. Used in art history and criticism.
Surrealism began in France in the 1920s.
The Japanese translation of 'surrealism', literally 'super-realism'. More formal and less common than the loanword.
Surrealist painters expressed dreams and the unconscious.
Describing a situation, image, or experience that is strangely unreal, like a dream or hallucination.
Means 'unrealistic' or 'surreal' in the sense of being detached from reality. Commonly used for strange, dreamlike scenes.
The scenery was surreal.
Literally 'dream-like'. Used for beautiful or fantastical experiences, but can also imply strangeness.
Means 'divorced from reality'. Stronger than 非現実的, often used for absurd or unbelievable situations.
Abbreviation of シュルレアリスム, used colloquially to mean 'surreal', 'bizarre', or 'absurd'. Very common in casual speech.
シュール is a casual, trendy word often used for absurd humor or bizarre art. 非現実的 is more neutral and can describe anything that feels unreal, including beautiful or frightening scenes. 現実離れした implies something is so strange it's hard to believe it's real.
His jokes are always surreal/absurd.
The sunset was surrealistically beautiful.
A surreal scene spread out before us.
His story was so surreal that I couldn't believe it.
あの映画、めっちゃシュールだったね。
That movie was so surreal, wasn't it?