Translation guide
The English word 'vacuum' can refer to a physical void, a cleaning device, or a figurative absence. This guide covers how to express these meanings naturally in Japanese.
Referring to a space devoid of matter, often in scientific or technical contexts.
The standard term for a physical vacuum, used in science and engineering.
宇宙は真空です。
Space is a vacuum.
真空状態を作り出す。
Create a vacuum state.
Referring to the household appliance used for cleaning floors.
The most common word for a vacuum cleaner.
掃除機をかける。
I run the vacuum cleaner.
新しい掃除機を買った。
I bought a new vacuum cleaner.
A loanword from English, often used in product names or casual speech.
Describing a lack of something, such as a power vacuum or emotional emptiness.
Means 'blank' or 'void', often used for gaps in information, power, or time.
Conveys emptiness or hollowness, often in an emotional or philosophical sense.
Can be used metaphorically for a complete absence, but less common than 空白.
Describing the action of cleaning with a vacuum cleaner.
The standard phrase meaning 'to vacuum' or 'to run the vacuum cleaner'.
毎日掃除機をかけます。
I vacuum every day.
Literally 'to suck with a vacuum cleaner', used when specifying what is being vacuumed.
カーペットのほこりを掃除機で吸った。
I vacuumed the dust from the carpet.
While 真空 means 'vacuum' in the scientific sense, it is never used to mean 'vacuum cleaner'. Always use 掃除機 for the appliance.
掃除機を買う
buy a vacuum cleaner
リビングに掃除機をかけないと。
I need to vacuum the living room.
その実験には真空が必要です。
The experiment requires a vacuum.
ハンディクリーナー
handheld vacuum cleaner
I feel a void in my heart.
情報の真空地帯
information vacuum zone