How to say "incorporation" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- 編入へんにゅうnoun, suru verb, transitive verbCovers incorporation only in the sense of a person being admitted into an institution, such as transferring into a school or enlisting; for incorporating companies or merging things it is not the word you want.
- 合体がったいnoun, suru verb, transitive verb, intransitive verbCovers incorporation as physical fusion: two or more things combining or coalescing into a single body. Typical of machines, vehicles or creatures uniting rather than companies or organizations merging.
- 合同ごうどうnoun, suru verb, transitive verb, intransitive verbCovers incorporation as the joining of separate groups or bodies into one union, and by extension joint undertakings carried out together. For the merger of companies or towns, 合併 is the word to reach for.
- 合併がっぺいnoun, suru verb, transitive verb, intransitive verbCovers incorporation as a merger: companies, towns or similar bodies combining into one. When English 'incorporation' means existing organizations amalgamating, this is the word you want.
- 設立せつりつnoun, suru verb, transitive verbCovers incorporation of a business: legally founding or establishing a company so that it comes into existence as a corporation. In legal or business contexts this is the word you want.
Choose by what is being incorporated: founding a business is 設立, merging companies or towns is 合併, separate groups joining is 合同, things fusing into one is 合体, and admission into an institution is 編入.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
See also
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