Translation guide
Describes courageous, brave, or heroic actions, efforts, or people. Japanese equivalents range from literary terms for heroism to everyday words for giving one's best effort.
Describing a person or action that is courageously heroic, often in a grand or dramatic context.
The most direct equivalent for 'valiant' in the sense of brave and heroic. Often used in formal or literary contexts.
He was a valiant warrior.
They fought valiantly.
Brave, gallant, or valiant, often implying a spirited or dashing quality. Can describe appearance or demeanor.
It was a valiant march.
Manly, brave, heroic. A more literary and somewhat old-fashioned term.
He met a valiant end.
Describing a valiant effort or attempt, often in the face of difficulty, without necessarily implying grand heroism.
A good fight, valiant effort. Commonly used in sports or competitions to praise a losing side's effort.
I want to praise his valiant effort.
A valiant attempt. Uses 勇敢 (brave) with 試み (attempt).
Admirable effort. 立派 means splendid or admirable, and is often used to praise someone's effort.
It was a valiant effort.
Referring to a valiant person, a hero.
勇敢 (ゆうかん) is the standard word for 'brave/valiant' and can be used in most contexts. 勇ましい (いさましい) often describes a gallant or spirited appearance or action, and can sometimes carry a nuance of being showy. 雄々しい (おおしい) is a literary word implying manly heroism and is rarely used in modern conversation.
While 勇敢な努力 (valiant effort) is possible, Japanese often prefers 健闘 (けんとう) or 立派な努力 (りっぱなどりょく) when praising someone's effort in non-heroic contexts like sports or work. Using 勇敢 may sound overly dramatic.
He made a valiant attempt to save the company.
Or: 健闘した (けんとうした) if focusing on the effort itself.
The firefighters were valiant in their rescue efforts.
They lost despite a valiant effort.
It was a valiant attempt, but it ended in failure.
Tales of valiant warriors of old.