Translation guide
The English word "depression" covers several distinct concepts: a mental health condition, an economic downturn, a sunken area, and the act of pressing down. This guide helps learners choose the right Japanese expression for each meaning.
To refer to clinical depression or a state of persistent low mood.
The standard medical term for clinical depression. Used in formal and everyday contexts.
彼はうつ病と診断された。
He was diagnosed with depression.
うつ病の治療には時間がかかることがあります。
Treatment for depression can take time.
A shorter, more colloquial term for depression. Often used in compounds or casual speech. Can feel slightly heavy or dramatic.
最近、ちょっと鬱っぽいんだ。
Lately, I've been feeling a bit depressed.
Describes the feeling of being down or depressed, without necessarily implying a clinical diagnosis. Common in everyday conversation.
雨の日は気分が落ち込む。
I feel down on rainy days.
A literary or formal term for melancholy or gloom. Often used in writing or to describe a heavy, lingering sadness.
彼は深い憂うつに沈んでいた。
He was sunk in deep melancholy.
To refer to a period of reduced economic activity, such as a recession or depression.
The standard term for an economic recession or depression. Used in news and business contexts.
世界恐慌は深刻な不況だった。
The Great Depression was a severe economic depression.
不況の影響で失業率が上がった。
The unemployment rate rose due to the depression.
Refers specifically to a panic or severe economic crisis, like the Great Depression. Stronger than 不況.
To describe a physical depression in a surface, such as a dent or hollow.
A general term for a hollow, dent, or depression in a surface. Common in everyday language.
地面にくぼみができた。
A depression formed in the ground.
テーブルに小さなくぼみがある。
There is a small dent in the table.
Similar to くぼみ, but often implies something that was pressed in or dented. Used for dents in cars, cans, etc.
A geographical term for a depression or basin. Used in maps or technical descriptions.
この地域は凹地になっている。
This area is a depression.
To refer to the action of pressing something downward.
The noun form of 'pressing down'. Often used in mechanical or technical contexts.
ボタンの押し下げで作動します。
It activates by depression of the button.
A more explicit nominalization using こと. Can be used when 押し下げ alone is ambiguous.
レバーを押し下げることで機械が動く。
The machine operates by depressing the lever.
When talking about feeling depressed, avoid directly translating 'I am depressed' as 私はうつ病です unless you mean a clinical diagnosis. Instead, use phrases like 気分が落ち込んでいる or 憂うつだ to describe your mood.
不況 is a general economic downturn, while 恐慌 implies a severe crisis or panic. Use 恐慌 for historical events like the Great Depression, and 不況 for milder recessions.
彼女は何年もうつ病に苦しんでいる。
She has been suffering from depression for years.
その不況は10年続いた。
The depression in the economy lasted a decade.
彼が座っていた砂の上にくぼみがあった。
There was a depression in the sand where he had been sitting.
1929年の世界恐慌
the Great Depression of 1929
A technical term for economic recession, often used in economic reports. Less severe than 恐慌.
景気後退が長引いている。
The recession is dragging on.
There's a dent in the car body.