How to say "accelerator" in Japanese

• アクセルJLPT N1approx.Common
  nounThe common word for the pedal sense of 'accelerator': the gas pedal that the driver presses to make a car go faster.
  私は注意ちゅうい深ふかくアクセルを踏ふんだ。↗

  I stepped on the accelerator carefully.
• アクセラレータ
  nounCovers the hardware sense of 'accelerator': a piece of hardware that speeds up processing. A katakana loanword, and less common than アクセル.
• 加速装置かそくそうち
  nounLiterally an 'acceleration device': use it for the general sense of an accelerator as a device that speeds something up, rather than the pedal. A less common word.

Use 「アクセル」, the common word, for a car's gas pedal; 「アクセラレータ」 for the hardware sense; and 加速装置, a less common word, for the general sense of a device that speeds something up.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• アクセルaccelerator (pedal)
• アクセラレータaccelerator (hardware)
• 加速装置かそくそうちaccelerator
• 加速器かそくき(particle) accelerator