How to say "shortcut" in Japanese

• 近道ちかみちCommon
  noun, suru verb, intransitive verbThe default choice for a shorter route, whether literal or figurative: a nearer path taken to arrive sooner, as in 'a shortcut to success'.
  学校がっこうへの近道ちかみちだよ。↗

  It's a shortcut to the school.
• 早道はやみちCommon
  nounLike 近道 but stressing time saved rather than distance cut — the quickest way rather than the shortest. It fits figurative talk about the fastest route to a goal.
• ショートカットCommon
  noun, suru verb, intransitive verbThe loanword from English. In computing it covers keyboard and file shortcuts; it is also used for taking a shortcut in the everyday, physical sense.
• 抜け道ぬけみちCommon
  nounReally 'a way through': a back road or little-known path for slipping past a traffic jam or obstruction; figuratively, a way around a rule or difficulty. Not the ordinary word for a shorter route.
  奈落ならくの底そこには抜け道ぬけみちはなく。↗

  I feel there is just no way out.
• 便法べんぽうCommon
  nounA 'shortcut' only in the figurative sense of a quicker method: a convenient or expedient way of getting a task done. It concerns means and procedures, never a physical route.

Use 近道 for a shorter route, literal or figurative; 早道 stresses speed over distance; 「ショートカット」 is the loanword, covering computer shortcuts; 「抜け道」 is a back way through, and 便法 a convenient method rather than a route.

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

• 近道ちかみちshorter way
• 早道はやみちshortcut
• ショートカットshortcut
• 抜け道ぬけみちbyway
• 捷径しょうけいshortcut
• 間道かんどうside road
• 速成法そくせいほうquick method
• 便法べんぽうexpedient