Translation guide
The English word 'trolley' can refer to several different things: a shopping cart, a serving cart, a streetcar, or a handcar. This guide helps you choose the right Japanese word depending on which meaning you intend.
A wheeled basket or cart used in supermarkets or stores to carry groceries or goods.
The most common and natural word for a shopping cart in Japan. Used in supermarkets and stores.
I pushed the cart around the store.
Please put the items in the cart.
A more explicit term, literally 'shopping cart'. Used when you need to be clear, but less common in everyday speech.
Return the shopping cart to the cart return.
A small wheeled table or cart used for serving food and drinks, often in hotels, airplanes, or hospitals.
Commonly used for a serving cart, especially in hotels, restaurants, or on airplanes. Also used for a tea cart or dessert trolley.
The flight attendant pushed the trolley and served drinks.
Breakfast at the hotel was brought on a trolley.
A direct loanword from English, used in some contexts like airplane service, but less common than ワゴン.
The service trolley is coming through the cabin.
A formal or technical term for a meal-serving cart, used in hospitals or large-scale catering. Not common in everyday conversation.
In hospitals, meals are delivered on a serving cart.
An electric vehicle that runs on rails along streets, used for public transport.
The standard term for a streetcar or tram. Literally 'street-surface train'.
Streetcars run in Hiroshima.
I took the tram to sightsee around the city.
A colloquial, nostalgic term for a streetcar, named after the 'chin chin' sound of its bell. Often used affectionately.
In the old days, the trolley used to run through town.
Short for 市営電車 (municipal streetcar). Used in city names like 広島市電 (Hiroshima City Tram).
You can get there directly by tram.
A small railroad car propelled by hand-pumping a lever, used for track maintenance.
The technical term for a handcar or pump trolley. Literally 'track bicycle'.
Track maintenance workers inspect the rails using a handcar.
A broader term for a small rail cart, often used in mines or construction. Can also refer to a hand-pushed cart, but not exclusively the pump type.
We rode the trolley through the mine tunnel.
カート is for shopping, ワゴン is for serving. Using ワゴン for a shopping cart would sound odd, and vice versa.
In British English, 'trolley' often means a shopping cart, while 'tram' is the streetcar. In American English, 'trolley' can mean a streetcar. Be aware of which meaning you intend.