How to say "latency" in Japanese

• 潜在せんざいCommon
  noun, suru verb, intransitive verbCovers latency as hidden or dormant existence — something present but not yet manifest. It centers on potentiality rather than waiting, so it suits contexts like latent abilities or latent qualities rather than delays or incubation.
  教育きょういくは潜在せんざいする能力のうりょくの開発かいはつをめざすものだ。↗

  Education aims to develop potential abilities.
• 遅延ちえんCommon
  suru verb, intransitive verb, no-adjectiveThis is the word for latency as an actual delay, especially in technical contexts such as computing, networks, and signal transmission, where a lag occurs between cause and response. For medical or psychological latency, it is usually not the word you want.
  僕ぼくは電車でんしゃが遅延ちえんしたので遅刻ちこくした。↗

  I was late as a result of the train delay.
• 潜伏せんぷくCommon
  noun, suru verb, intransitive verbCovers latency as an incubation or dormant period, most typically of an illness: the pathogen is present in the body but symptoms have not yet appeared. It can also suggest something lying concealed, but its core use is medical dormancy.

Use 遅延 for technical delay (e.g. network or system response time), 潜伏 for incubation periods of disease, and 潜在 for latency in the sense of hidden, dormant potential.

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

• 潜在せんざいpotentiality
• 遅延ちえんdelay
• 潜時せんじlatency
• 潜伏性せんぷくせいlatency
• レイテンシーlatency
• 待ち時間まちじかんwaiting time
• 潜伏せんぷくincubation