Translation guide
How to express 'tacking' in Japanese, covering sailing, sewing, and figurative uses.
The sailing maneuver where a boat turns its bow through the wind to change direction.
The most direct equivalent, a loanword from English. Commonly used in sailing contexts.
Since the wind direction changed, we repeated tacking.
A traditional Japanese sailing term for tacking, literally 'windward turn'. Less common than タッキング but still used.
The timing of tacking is difficult.
An archaic term for tacking, rarely used in modern Japanese. Found in historical or traditional sailing texts.
Sailors of old used tacking to make headway upwind.
The act of sewing with long, loose stitches to temporarily hold pieces together before final sewing.
The standard term for basting or tacking in sewing. Can be used as a noun or verb (しつけをする, しつけをかける).
First, do some tacking, then sew with the machine.
Literally 'temporary sewing', often used interchangeably with しつけ, but can also refer to a fitting or trial sewing.
To change one's course of action, opinion, or strategy, similar to a sailing tack.
A general phrase meaning 'to change direction', applicable to strategies, policies, or plans.
The company tacked in its strategy.
Literally 'change policy/course', a natural way to express a shift in approach.
A metaphorical expression meaning 'to steer a new course', evoking the image of turning a ship's rudder. More vivid and literary.
The act of fastening something with tacks (small nails).
While タッキング is used in sailing, it is not used metaphorically in Japanese. For figurative 'tacking' (changing approach), use phrases like 方向転換する or 方針を変える.
仮縫いで布を留めてください。
Please tack the fabric with temporary stitches.
The government tacked on economic policy.
He suddenly tacked and embarked on a new venture.
I tacked the fabric to repair the chair.