ドライバー

also: ドライバ

ド

ラ

イ

バ

ー

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 5,000

Meanings

noun

driver; motorist

Refers to a person who drives a vehicle, such as a car, truck, or bus.

彼かれはタクシーのドライバーです。
He is a taxi driver.
ドライバーの不ふ注ちゅう意いが事じ故この原げん因いんだった。
The driver's carelessness caused the accident.

noun

screwdriver

A hand tool for turning screws; often specified as プラスドライバー (Phillips) or マイナスドライバー (flathead).

ドライバーでネジを締しめてください。
Please tighten the screw with a screwdriver.

noun

driver; golf club

golf

In golf, the longest club used for tee shots; also called 1番ウッド.

彼かれはドライバーでボールを遠とおくに飛とばした。
He hit the ball far with his driver.

noun

device driver; driver

computing

In computing, software that controls a hardware device; the spelling ドライバ is common in this context.

プリンターのドライバをインストールしてください。
Please install the printer driver.

Written forms

ドライバーUsage77%
Standard katakana spelling for all senses; the long-vowel form is the most common.
ドライバUsage23%
search-only kana form
Common in computing contexts for device driver; it is the usual form for that sense.

Similar words

運うん転てん手しゅ
Refers specifically to a professional driver (e.g., taxi, bus, chauffeur), while ドライバー is a broader term for anyone who drives.
ねじ回まわし
A native Japanese word for screwdriver, less common than ドライバー in everyday speech.

Etymology

Borrowed from English 'driver', with the long-vowel form ドライバー being the standard adaptation. The computing sense is a semantic extension from the English term.