Translation guide
Describes the agricultural process of preparing a rice paddy for planting by plowing, harrowing, or otherwise working the soil, often while it is flooded.
田を耕す
tilling a rice field
To refer to the overall act of tilling or cultivating a rice paddy, typically in preparation for planting.
The most common and general way to say 'to till a rice field'. 耕す means to plow or cultivate soil.
春になると、農家は田を耕し始める。
When spring comes, farmers start tilling the rice fields.
Uses the more colloquial 田んぼ instead of 田. Slightly more conversational.
父は毎日田んぼを耕している。
My father tills the rice paddies every day.
Specifically refers to the process of puddling the soil in a flooded paddy to reduce water leakage and level the surface before transplanting rice seedlings.
代掻きは田植えの前の重要な作業です。
Puddling is an important task before rice planting.
Means to plow the field using a spade or plow. Less common than 耕す and can sound more traditional or manual.
昔は馬を使って田を鋤いていた。
In the old days, they used horses to plow the rice fields.
To emphasize that the tilling is done in water, which is typical for rice paddies.
Explicitly describes tilling a field that has been flooded with water.
水を張った田を耕すのは重労働だ。
Tilling a flooded rice field is hard work.
Verb form of 代掻き, meaning to puddle the soil in a flooded paddy. Very specific to rice cultivation.
トラクターで代を掻く。
Puddle the field with a tractor.
耕す (tagayasu) is general tilling/plowing, while 代掻き (shirokaki) is the specific process of puddling a flooded paddy to create a soft, level mud layer for transplanting. 代掻き is a subset of rice field preparation.
まず田を耕し、それから代掻きをする。
First till the field, then puddle it.