Translation guide
A container for carrying liquids or other materials, typically with a handle. In Japanese, the most common word is バケツ, but traditional wooden buckets (桶) and pails for specific uses also exist.
The learner wants to refer to a typical bucket used for cleaning, gardening, or carrying water.
The most common word for a bucket in everyday life. Usually made of plastic or metal, with a handle. Used for cleaning, carrying water, etc.
バケツに水を入れてください。
Please put water in the bucket.
彼はバケツで床を拭いた。
He mopped the floor with a bucket.
A small wooden bucket or pail, often used traditionally in Japanese baths or for carrying small amounts of water. Not common in modern daily life.
手桶で湯を汲む。
Scoop hot water with a small wooden bucket.
The learner wants to refer to a traditional Japanese wooden container, often used for storing rice, miso, or in baths.
A general term for a wooden bucket or tub. Often used for traditional purposes like storing rice, making miso, or as a bathtub (e.g., 風呂桶). Can be large.
この桶は味噌を作るのに使います。
This wooden tub is used for making miso.
昔は桶で洗濯をした。
In the old days, people did laundry in wooden tubs.
A pair of buckets carried on a shoulder pole. Historical and rarely used today except in festivals or traditional settings.
The learner wants to refer to a large, sturdy bucket used on construction sites or for heavy-duty tasks.
Also used for large buckets in construction or industrial contexts. Often specified by material or size.
工事現場で大きなバケツを使う。
They use large buckets at the construction site.
From English 'pail'. Often refers to a metal or plastic pail with a lid, used for storing paint, oil, or chemicals. Common in industrial contexts.
The learner wants to express an amount equivalent to a bucketful.
Literally 'one bucketful'. Used to indicate a quantity that fills a bucket.
バケツ一杯の水を運んだ。
I carried a bucketful of water.
Similar to バケツ一杯, emphasizing the container being filled.
バケツに一杯の砂を集めた。
I gathered a bucketful of sand.
The learner wants to use 'bucket' in expressions like 'kick the bucket' or 'bucket list'.
For 'kick the bucket' (meaning to die), the direct translation is simply '死ぬ'. There is no equivalent idiom using a bucket.
Do not translate 'kick the bucket' literally as バケツを蹴る; it will not be understood.
彼は昨日死んだ。
He kicked the bucket yesterday.
The English term 'bucket list' is often borrowed directly as バケットリスト in Japanese. It is understood by many, especially younger people.
富士山に登るのは私のバケットリストに入っている。
Climbing Mt. Fuji is on my bucket list.
A more natural Japanese way to say 'bucket list': 'list of things I want to do'.
死ぬまでにやりたいことリストを作った。
I made a bucket list of things to do before I die.
バケツ is the default word for a modern bucket (plastic/metal). 桶 refers specifically to a traditional wooden bucket or tub, often used for specific purposes like bathing or food storage. Using 桶 for a plastic cleaning bucket would sound odd.
English idioms like 'kick the bucket' or 'bucket list' do not translate directly. Use the Japanese equivalents provided, or explain the concept in natural Japanese.
バケツに水を入れて。
Fill the bucket with water.
彼はバケツ二杯の水を運んだ。
He carried two buckets of water.
祭りで担い桶を見た。
I saw a pair of carrying buckets at the festival.
The paint is in a pail can.