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.
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.
When spring comes, farmers start tilling the rice fields.
Uses the more colloquial 田んぼ instead of 田. Slightly more conversational.
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.
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.
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.
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.
First till the field, then puddle it.