Translation guide
The English word "trivial" has several distinct meanings. This guide helps you choose the right Japanese expression depending on whether you mean unimportant, simple, mathematically trivial, or something else.
Describing something that is not important, not serious, or not worth worrying about.
The most common and natural way to say something is trivial in the sense of being minor or insignificant. Used for matters, details, differences, etc.
That's a trivial problem.
He gets angry over trivial things.
Literally "not worth taking up." Emphasizes that something is so insignificant it's not worth considering. Slightly more emphatic than 些細な.
Don't worry about such trivial things.
Casual, conversational phrase meaning "it doesn't matter" or "I don't care." Often used to dismiss something as trivial or unimportant.
That's trivial. / I don't care about that.
A formal, somewhat literary word for trivial or petty. Often used in written contexts.
Let's avoid trivial arguments.
Describing a task, problem, or concept that is very easy or elementary.
The most common word for "easy" or "simple." Works well for trivial tasks or problems.
It's a trivial task.
It was a trivial problem for him.
Means "self-evident" or "obvious." Often used in academic or technical contexts to describe something that is trivially true.
The theorem is trivial.
An idiomatic expression meaning "a piece of cake" or "trivially easy." Very casual.
That's trivial. / That's a piece of cake.
In mathematics, referring to a trivial solution, group, or case that is the simplest possible, often zero or empty.
The standard term in mathematics for "trivial." Used for trivial solutions, trivial groups, etc.
The trivial solution is zero.
The trivial group consists only of the identity element.
Direct loanword from English, used in some technical contexts, but 自明な is more common.
Let's consider a trivial example.
A non-systematic name for a chemical compound or organism, as opposed to its scientific name.
While トリビアル is understood in some technical circles, it is not natural in everyday Japanese. Use 些細な for unimportant things, 簡単な for easy things, and 自明な for mathematical triviality.
Both mean insignificant, but 取るに足らない is stronger and more dismissive. 些細な is neutral and more common.
この化合物の俗称は酢酸だ。
The trivial name of this compound is acetic acid.