Aspiring to work as a developer and software engineer in Japan? While you don’t need native-level Japanese proficiency to work in the tech sector in Japan, it is still good to learn a few IT and engineering-related Japanese words. After all, even if you can get by living in Japan with basic Japanese, niche words may be hard to come across if you’re just casually learning the language.
Now, you can work in Japan and have a fulfilling career with limited Japanese language skills. However, you’ll miss many more attractive opportunities unless you step up the game and show your prospective employers that you’re making an effort to fit in with the company. One way to do that is to start using Japanese words that software engineers and IT professionals know.
Because of their niche usage, these terms may be difficult to understand if you’re trying to learn Japanese. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of some terms that you’re likely to encounter in an IT job!
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Computer Vocabulary
This covers words and phrases related to computers. Even if you’re not an engineer or someone who works in the tech sector, it’s a good idea to take a look at them. Using a computer is something general, so even if you don’t use them as much as a full-stack developer in Japan, they are probably still worth remembering.
For a visual infographic, head to our guide on Japanese computer vocabulary.
| Romaji | Kanji | Kana | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Puroguramu | – | プログラム | (Computer) Program |
| Apuri | – | アプリ | App |
| Burauza | – | ブラウザ | Browser |
| Konpyuuta | – | コンピュータ | Computer |
| Henkan | 変換 | へんかん | Convert |
| Deeta | – | データ | Data |
| Desukutoppu | – | デスクトップ | Desktop |
| Kiki/Debaisu | 機器/デバイス | きき/デバイス | Device |
| Meeru | – | メール | |
| Kakuchoushi | 拡張子 | かくちょうし | File extension |
| Kansuu | 関数 | かんすう | Function |
| Haadodoraibu | – | ハードドライブ | Hard Drive |
| Haadowea | – | ハードウエア | Hardware |
| Nyuuryoku | 入力 | にゅうりょく | Input, to fill in |
| Intaanetto | – | インターネット | Internet |
| IP adoresu | – | IPアドレス | IP Address |
| Kiiboodo | – | キーボード | Keyboard |
| Rapputoppu | – | ラップトップ | Laptop |
| Kaisetsusho | 解説書 | かいせつしょ | Manual |
| Monitaa | – | モニター | Monitor |
| Mausu | – | マウス | Mouse |
| Shutsuryoku | 出力 | しゅつりょく | Output |
| Purintaa | – | プリンター | Printer |
| Saikidou | 再起動 | さいきどう | Restart |
| Uwagaki/hozon | (上書き) 保存 | (うわがき) ほぞん | Save |
| Gamen | 画面 | がめん | Screen |
| Saabaa | – | サーバー | Server |
| Settei | 設定 | せってい | Settings |
| Supeesu/kuuhaku | スペース/空白 | スペース/くうはく | Space |
| Kidou | 起動 | きどう | Start |
| Gijutsu | 技術 | ぎじゅつ | Technology |
| Tanmatsu | 端末 | たんまつ | Terminal |
| Tenpu | 添付 | てんぷ | To attach |
| Asshuku | 圧縮 | あっしゅく | To compress |
| Setsuzoku | 接続 | せつぞく | To connect |
| Kopipe | – | コピペ | To copy and paste |
| Kiritoru | 切り取る | きりとる | To cut |
| Kakidasu | 書き出す | かきだす | To export |
| Sounyuu | 挿入 | そうにゅう | To insert |
| Haritsukeru | 貼り付ける | はりつける | To paste |
| Insatsu | 印刷 | いんさつ | To print out |
| Kyouyuu | 共有 | きょうゆう | To share |
| Kidou | 起動 | きどう | To startup |
| Douki | 同期 | どうき | To synchronize |
| Tacchipaddo | – | タッチパッド | Touchpad |
| Webusaito | – | ウェブサイト | Website |
Programming Vocabulary
This covers some words and phrases related to programming. If you’re a developer, engineer, or even a data scientist, you might want to study the Japanese vocabulary.
The good news is that most Japanese words related to tech, IT, and engineering are borrowed from English and written in katakana. That means you don’t have to go all the way remembering a whole new set of words and kanji. Chances are if you turn a tech term into a loanword, your Japanese coworkers will be able to understand it either way.
| Romaji | Kanji | Kana | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| tsuika | 追加 | ついか | Add |
| hikisuu | 引数 | ひきすう | Argument, parameter |
| hairetsu | 配列 | はいれつ | Array |
| jinkouchinou | 人工知能 | じんこうちのう | Artificial intelligence, AI |
| hidouki | 非同期 | ひどうき | Asynchronous |
| bakkuendo | – | バックエンド | Backend |
| beetaban | ベータ版 | ばん | Beta version |
| bainarii | – | バイナリー | Binary |
| nishinsuu | 二進数 | にしんすう | Binary number |
| bitto | – | ビット | Bit |
| buuru | – | ブール | Boolean |
| shingichi / shinrichi | 真偽値/真理値 | しんぎち/しんりち | Boolean value |
| bagu | – | バグ | Bug |
| birudo | – | ビルド | Build (noun) |
| kooru | – | コール | Call |
| moji | 文字 | もじ | Character |
| kurasu | – | クラス | Class |
| koodo rebyuu | – | コードレビュー | Code Review |
| komando rain | – | コマンドライン | Command Line |
| konpairu suru | – | コンパイルする | Compile |
| sakusei | 作成 | さくせい | Compose/create |
| jouken-tsuki | 条件つき | 条件つき | Conditional |
| teisuu | 定数 | 定数 | Constant |
| deeta kouzou | データ構造 | データこうぞう | Data Structure |
| deeta shurui | データ種類 | データしゅるい | Data Type |
| deetabeesu | – | データベース | Database |
| debaggu | – | デバッグ | Debug |
| debaggu suru | – | デバッグする | Debugging |
| sengen | 宣言 | せんげん | Declaration |
| fukugou | 復号 | ふくごう | Decryption |
| teigi | 定義 | ていぎ | Define |
| nouhin | 納品 | のうひん | Delivery |
| haibi | 配備 | はいび | Deploy |
| sekkei | 設計 | せっけい | Design/architecture |
| kaihatsusha | 開発者 | かいはつしゃ | Developer |
| kaihatsu | 開発 | かいはつ | Development |
| kaihatsu kankyou | 開発環境 | かいはつかんきょう | Development environment |
| douteki | 動的 | どうてき | Dynamic |
| angouka | 暗号化 | あんごうか | Encryption |
| eraa | – | エラー | Error |
| ibento | – | イベント | Event |
| ibento handoraa | – | イベントハンドラー | Event Handler |
| reigai | 例外 | れいがい | Exception |
| fureemuwaaku | – | フレームワーク | Framework |
| furontoendo | – | フロントエンド | Front End |
| furusutakku | – | フルスタック | Full Stack |
| kinou | 機能 | きのう | Function |
| kansuu | 関数 | かんすう | Function |
| HTTP rikuesuto | – | HTTPリクエスト | HTTP Request |
| jissou | 実装 | じっそう | Implementation |
| nyuuryoku | 入力 | 入力 | Input |
| seisuu (gata) | 整数 (型) | せいすう (がた) | Integer (type) |
| ruupu | – | ループ | Loop |
| kikai gakushuu | 機械学習 | きかいがくしゅう | Machine Learning |
| hoshu | 保守 | ほしゅ | Maintenance |
| kanri | 管理 | かんり | Manage |
| nyuuraru nettowaaku | – | ニューラルネットワーク | Neural Network |
| nuru | – | ヌル | Null |
| obujekuto | – | オブジェクト | Object |
| obujekuto shikou | オブジェクト指向 | オブジェクトしこう | Object-oriented |
| unyou | 運用 | うんよう | Operation |
| enzanshi | 演算子 | えんざんし | Operator |
| autopputo | – | アウトプット | Output |
| heiretsu shori | 並列処理 | へいれつしょり | Parallel processing |
| parameta | – | パラメータ | Parameter |
| purosesu / shori | プロセス/処理 | プロセス/しょり | Process |
| puroguramingu | – | プログラミング | Programming |
| konpyuutaa gengo | コンピューター言語 | コンピューターげんご | Programming language |
| gijiransuu | 擬似乱数 | ぎじらんすう | Pseudo-random number |
| ransuu | 乱数 | らんすう | Random number |
| jouchousei | 冗長性 | じょうちょうせい | Redundancy |
| jikkou | 実行 | じっこう | Run/execute |
| sekyuritei | – | セキュリティー | Security |
| sofutowea | – | ソフトウェア | Software |
| soosu | – | ソース | Source |
| shiyou | 仕様 | しよう | Specification |
| supurinto | – | スプリント | Sprint |
| sute-tomento | – | ステートメント | Statement |
| seiteki | 静的 | せいてき | Static |
| teishi | 停止 | ていし | Stop |
| mojiretsu | 文字列 | もじれつ | String |
| kouzou | 構造 | こうぞう | Structure |
| taggu | – | タグ | Tag |
| tesuto | – | テスト | Test |
| ninshou | 認証 | にんしょう | To authenticate |
| kaihatsu | 開発 | かいはつ | To develop |
| shori | 処理 | しょり | To process (information) |
| tookun | – | トークン | Token |
| taikenban | 体験版 | たいけんばん | Trial version |
| atai | 値 | あたい | Value |
| hensuu | 変数 | へんすう | Variable |
| kasou | 仮想 | かそう | Virtual |
| zeijakusei | 脆弱性 | ぜいじゃくせい | Vulnerability |
Web Vocabulary
This covers some words or phrases that will come up in regard to websites and web design.
| Kanji | Kana | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 140. | 背景 | はいけい | Background |
| 141. | – | ぶろっく | Block |
| 142. | – | ぼーだー | Border |
| 143. | 直帰率 | ちょっきりつ | Bounce rate |
| 144. | – | ぼっくす | Box |
| 145. | パンくず | パンくず | Breadcrumbs |
| 146. | – | せる | Cell |
| 147. | 円 | えん | Circle |
| 148. | 列 | れつ | Column |
| 149. | 構成 | こうせい | Composition |
| 150. | 依存性 | いぞんせい | Dependency |
| 151. | 修正 | しゅうせい | Edit |
| 152. | 離脱率 | りだつりつ | Exit rate |
| 153. | 外部リンク | がいぶりんく | External link |
| 154. | – | ふぁいる | File |
| 155. | 拡張子 | かくちょうし | File extension |
| 156. | – | ふぉんと | Font |
| 157. | – | ふったー | Footer |
| 158. | 形式 | けいしき | Format |
| 159. | – | へっだー | Header |
| 160. | 見出し | みだし | Heading |
| 161. | 高さ | たかさ | Height |
| 162. | 内部リンク | ないぶりんく | Internal link |
| 163. | 下層 | かそう | Lower level |
| 164. | – | まーじん | Margin |
| 165. | – | ねっとわーく | Network |
| 166. | 自然検索 | しぜんけんさく | Organic search |
| 167. | – | ぱでぅんぐ | Padding |
| 168. | – | ぴくせる | Pixel |
| 169. | 順位 | じゅんい | Position |
| 170. | 長方形 | ちょうほうけい | Rectangle |
| 171. | 行 | くだり | Row |
| 172. | 検索結果画面 | けんさくけっかがめん | SERP (search engine results page) |
| 173. | 正方形 | せいほうけい | Square |
| 174. | – | すたいる | Style |
| 175. | 適用 | てきよう | To assign |
| 176. | 崩れる | くずれる | To break down, to fall apart |
| 177. | 実装 | じっそう | To implement |
| 178. | 流し込む | ながしこむ | To insert |
| 179. | 運用 | うんよう | To run, to maintain |
| 180. | 利用者 | りようしゃ | User |
| 181. | 訪問 | ほうもん | Visit, session |
| 182. | アクセス解析 | あくせすかいせき | Web analytics |
| 183. | 余白 | よはく | White space |
| 184. | 幅 | はば | Width |
Day-to-day Vocabulary
This covers some words and phrases you’ll use regularly in the office.
| Romaji | Kanji | Kana | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| mitsumori | 見積もり | みつもり | An estimate |
| jouken | 条件 | じょうけん | Condition |
| youkyuu | 要求 | ようきゅう | Demand, request |
| kiki | 機器 | きき | Equipment |
| hiyou | 費用 | ひよう | Expense |
| kaizen | 改善 | かいぜん | Improvement |
| jouhou | 情報 | じょうほう | Information |
| hoshu | 保守 | ほしゅ | Maintenance, maintain |
| unyou | 運用 | うにょう | Operations |
| zangyou | 残業 | ざんぎょう | Overtime |
| tantousha | 担当者 | たんとうしゃ | Person in charge of something |
| nyuumon | 入門 | にゅうもん | Primer |
| shori | 処理 | しょり | Process |
| purojekuto | – | ぷろじぇくと | Project |
| kikakusho | 企画書 | きかくしょ | Project plan document |
| kikaku | 企画 | きかく | Project, plan, planning |
And that’s the list! We hope this helps you in your current or future jobs! Check out one of our previous posts for more vocabulary like this!
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