Translation guide
Describes a person with original, far-reaching ideas about the future, or something characterized by such foresight. In Japanese, this concept is expressed through nouns and adjectives that emphasize foresight, imagination, and the ability to see beyond the present.
Referring to someone who has innovative and forward-thinking ideas, often in business, technology, or social change.
He is a visionary.
A loanword from English, used in business and tech contexts to describe a visionary leader. It carries a modern, slightly formal nuance.
He is known as a visionary in the tech industry.
Literally 'dreamer', this can imply a visionary but often carries a nuance of being impractical or idealistic. Use with caution.
May sound negative, implying lack of realism.
He is a visionary, but his ideas are sometimes not practical.
Describing plans, ideas, projects, or leadership that are innovative and forward-looking.
An adjective phrase meaning 'having foresight'. It is commonly used to describe visionary plans or leadership.
That plan is visionary.
A na-adjective meaning 'forward-looking' or 'visionary'. Slightly more formal than 先見性のある.
Means 'future-oriented'. It is a more general term that can be used for visionary approaches, but lacks the nuance of originality.
Referring to someone who claims to see visions of the future or the divine, often in a religious or mystical context.
A formal term for a person who sees visions, often used in religious or psychological contexts. Rare in everyday conversation.
He was revered as a visionary.
Means 'prophet' or 'seer'. It implies predicting the future through divine inspiration, which overlaps with the visionary sense but is more specific.
先見の明がある人 is a natural Japanese phrase suitable for most contexts, while ビジョナリー is a loanword often used in business or tech to sound modern and international. Use 先見の明がある人 for general descriptions and ビジョナリー when emphasizing a role model or leader in innovative fields.
Steve Jobs was a visionary.
Steve Jobs is respected as a visionary.
空想家 (くうそうか) means 'fantasist' or 'daydreamer' and often implies someone disconnected from reality. It is not a suitable translation for the positive sense of 'visionary'.
She is a visionary leader.
His visionary ideas changed the industry.
His visionary leadership saved the company.
We need a visionary strategy.
その予言者は未来を見通す力があると言われている。
The visionary is said to have the power to foresee the future.
He is a fantasist and cannot make realistic plans.