Translation guide
The English word 'taming' refers to making something wild or unruly more manageable. In Japanese, the expression depends heavily on what is being tamed: animals, people, emotions, or abstract forces.
To domesticate or train a wild animal to be obedient or less dangerous.
The most direct equivalent for taming an animal, implying domestication and training to live with humans.
He tamed a wild horse.
To tame or win over an animal (or person) through gentle handling, often implying gaining trust.
To train or break in an animal, often used for performance or work animals. Can sound technical.
Taming an elephant is difficult.
To make a person obedient, submissive, or less wild in behavior, often through discipline or charm.
To control or suppress one's own feelings, urges, or wild thoughts.
To bring something wild or powerful under control, like fire, rivers, or chaos.
To control or harness natural forces or abstract concepts.
Using 飼いならす for people can sound like you are treating them as animals. Use 手なずける or rephrase with 制御する/抑える depending on context.
飼いならす focuses on domestication and training, often for utility. 手なずける emphasizes gaining trust and making something docile through gentle handling, and is more flexible for people and animals.
Taming a wild horse takes patience.
She tamed the wary cat.
Used for people as well as animals, implying winning someone over or making them manageable.
He tamed the rebellious student.
Can be used metaphorically for people, but may sound dehumanizing or humorous.
Using 飼いならす for people can be offensive or jocular; 手なずける is safer.
It's like she tamed him.
To win over or placate someone, often in political or strategic contexts. Implies taming through persuasion.
The government tried to tame the opposition.
To suppress or hold back emotions or desires. Very common and natural.
Taming your anger is important.
To control or regulate something, often used for emotions or impulses in a more formal or technical sense.
Learn to tame your emotions.
Metaphorically taming emotions as if they were wild animals. Poetic or literary.
He tamed his fear.
Humans learned to tame fire.
To overcome or conquer something difficult, like a wild environment or challenge.
They tried to tame the wilderness.
Rare, literary term for taming or pacifying something wild, including natural forces.
You cannot tame a storm.
彼女は彼の荒々しい心を手なずけた。
She tamed his wild heart.