How to say "speed" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- nounThe everyday loanword and the default choice for speed in most contexts — how fast a car, person, or process moves or happens. Safe in conversation and general writing.
- 速度そくどnounThe Sino-Japanese word for speed as a measurable quantity; this is the term for velocity in science and for speed or rate in formal, technical, and written contexts.
- 時速じそくnounNot a general word for speed: it means speed measured per hour, used when stating how many kilometers per hour something travels.
- 速力そくりょくnounA formal, written-style word for speed; in everyday conversation スピード or 速度 is what you would normally use, so this is seldom the word you want in speech.
- nounA loanword for speed as pace or tempo — the rate at which work or an activity proceeds, not the speed of a moving object; use スピード or 速度 for that.
Use 「スピード」 as the everyday all-purpose word, 速度 for measurable or technical speed and rates, 時速 only for per-hour speeds, 「ピッチ」 for the pace of an activity, and 速力 mainly in formal written style.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
See also
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