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触媒 (しょくばい, shokubai) Japanese meaning: catalyst | Kotomora
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This chemical reaction requires a catalyst.
His speech became a catalyst for reform.
Usage patterns 〈 物もの 〉 が 触しょく 媒ばい として 働はたら く for a substance to function as a catalyst
This metal acts as a catalyst for the reaction.
〈 事こと 〉 の 触しょく 媒ばい となる to become the catalyst for something (figurative)
That incident became the catalyst for social change.
触しょく 媒ばい を 用もち いる to use a catalyst
A special catalyst is used for this chemical reaction.
触しょく 媒ばい の 役やく 割わり を 果は たす to play the role of a catalyst
His remark played the role of a catalyst in the negotiations.
Related words 促進剤 is a broader term for any substance or agent that speeds up a process, while 触媒 specifically denotes a chemical catalyst that is not consumed in the reaction.
起爆剤 (literally 'detonator') is used figuratively for something that sets off a chain of events, much like 触媒 in its figurative sense of a person or event that triggers change.
Don't confuse with 媒体 shares the kanji 媒 with 触媒 but means 'medium' or 'media' (e.g. a storage medium or news media), not a chemical catalyst.
触媒 shares the kanji 媒 but means a chemical catalyst, not an intermediary or disease carrier like 媒介.
Word family· 7 photocatalyst; photocatalysis
catalytic promoter; promoter
positive catalyst
catalyst poison; catalytic poison
Etymology Composed of 触 (touch, contact) and 媒 (medium, intermediary). The term was coined in Japanese to translate the Western concept of a catalyst, reflecting the idea of a substance that mediates a reaction through contact.
negative catalyst; inhibitor
