How to say "cutter" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- nounThe everyday loanword for a cutter as a tool or implement. On its own it very often means a small utility knife, and it is the default choice when you simply mean 'a cutter'.
- 抜き型ぬきがたnounA cutter you press down to stamp out a shape — a cookie cutter in the kitchen, or a punching die in manufacturing. This is the word for the cookie-cutter sense.
- 切り手きりてnounHere 'cutter' means a person who cuts, not a tool — someone whose job is cutting. For an implement or machine this is seldom the word you want; it has a separate sense, 'certificate'.
- 切断機せつだんきnounA cutting machine: the machine sense of 'cutter' — factory or workshop equipment that cuts material, not a hand tool. It also covers a guillotine.
- 裁断機さいだんきnounAlso a cutting machine, but one for cutting flat material such as paper or cloth; the paper-cutting kind is what English calls a (paper) guillotine, as in a print shop or office.
「カッター」 is the everyday word for a cutting tool; 「抜き型」 stamps out shapes, as with a cookie cutter; 切断機 and 裁断機 are cutting machines, the latter for paper and cloth; 「切り手」 means a person who cuts.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
