How to say "shorten" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- 縮めるちぢめるichidan verb, transitive verbThe general transitive choice: you make something shorter or smaller — a distance, a span of time, a piece of writing. Its gloss also covers 'reduce' and 'condense'.
- 縮まるちぢまるgodan verb, intransitive verbThe intransitive counterpart of 縮める: something becomes shorter, or a gap narrows, without an agent being stated — distances, differences and spans of time shrink.
- 略すりゃくすgodan verb, transitive verbFor shortening by omission: abbreviating a long word or name, or abridging a text. When 'shorten' means 'put into a shorter form', this is the word.
- 切り詰めるきりつめるichidan verb, transitive verbShortening by cutting: trimming hair or a hem, paring a text down, or figuratively cutting expenses. The image is cutting off what is excess.
- 減らすへらすgodan verb, transitive verbReally 'to decrease': reducing the number or amount of something. It fits 'shorten' only loosely — time or work you cut down on — and is not the word for shortening lengths or texts.
Choose 「縮める」 or 「縮まる」 for making lengths, distances or spans of time shorter (transitive vs intransitive), 「略す」 for abbreviating words or texts, 「切り詰める」 for cutting or trimming something down, and 「減らす」 only for reducing amounts.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
See also
This browser can't play pronunciations (needs Safari 18.4 or later, or Chrome / Edge / Firefox).
