How to say "tack" in Japanese

• 釘くぎJLPT N2approx.Common
  nounThe common word for a nail, which also covers spike, tack and rivet; for an ordinary small metal fastener this is usually the word you want.
  その板いたに釘くぎを打うってください。↗

  Drive the nail into the board.
• タック
  nounA loanword covering tack in the sense of stickiness or adhesiveness; it suits the sticky quality of an adhesive, but for the small metal fastener it is seldom the word you want.
• 鋲びょう
  nounThe specific word for a thumbtack or drawing-pin, the flat-headed pin you press into a wall or board; it can also mean a rivet, and for the thumbtack sense it is the precise choice.
  彼かれは掲示板けいじばんにそのビラをびょうで留とめた。↗

  He stuck the notice on the board with tacks.
• 間切るまぎる
  godan verb, intransitive verbA verb for the nautical sense: to tack against the wind, beating upwind in a sailboat; it also means to plow through a wave, so it belongs to sailing talk rather than to fasteners.
• 止めくぎとめくぎ
  nounA nail whose job is to hold or stop something — a stop peg or toggle in other contexts; for tack it suggests a fastening nail, and it is a narrower, less common choice than 釘.
  しかし、彼かれは違ちがった大おおきさや色いろの木製もくせいの留とめくぎを見みたことはあるかもしれない。↗

  He might, however, have seen a wooden peg of a different size or color.

For the metal fastener use 釘 (general) or 鋲 (thumbtack/drawing-pin), 「止めくぎ」 for a nail that holds something in place; 「タック」 is a loanword tending toward stickiness, and 「間切る」 is the verb for tacking against the wind.

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

• 釘くぎnail
• タックtack
• 鋲びょうrivet
• 間切るまぎるto plow through (a wave) (plough)
• 止めくぎとめくぎstop peg
• 鋲釘びょうくぎrivet
• しつけるto tack (in needlework)
• 止めるとめるto fix (in place)