Translation guide
The ability to withstand hardship, pain, or prolonged effort. In Japanese, this concept is expressed through words emphasizing patience, perseverance, stamina, and durability, depending on the context.
The ability to keep going despite difficulty, stress, or suffering, often with a focus on inner strength.
The most direct equivalent for 'endurance' as a virtue; implies patiently bearing hardship without complaint. Often used in formal or literary contexts.
Everyday word for putting up with something unpleasant; endurance through self-restraint. Very common in spoken Japanese.
痛いけど、我慢する。
It hurts, but I'll endure it.
もう我慢できない。
I can't endure it anymore.
Patient endurance, often with a nuance of quietly bearing a long-term difficult situation. Slightly old-fashioned but still used.
辛抱強く待つ。
Wait with patient endurance.
Literary verb meaning to bear and endure silently. Emphasizes stoic suffering.
苦難を堪え忍ぶ。
Endure hardships stoically.
The ability to sustain prolonged physical effort; athletic or bodily endurance.
Physical endurance or stamina, especially in sports. Literally 'lasting power'.
マラソンには持久力が大切だ。
Endurance is important for a marathon.
Loanword from English 'stamina'. Commonly used in casual and sports contexts.
Physical strength/energy; often overlaps with endurance in the sense of overall physical capacity.
The ability of something to withstand wear, pressure, or damage over time.
Durability; the quality of being long-lasting. Used for products, materials, etc.
このタイヤは耐久性が高い。
These tires have high endurance/durability.
Sturdy, durable. Common everyday adjective for objects that can take a lot of use.
A race or contest testing how long someone or something can last.
Endurance race (e.g., car racing, cycling).
ル・マン24時間耐久レース
24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race
Long-distance running (as a school event or training).
我慢 (gaman) is the most common and casual, used for everyday annoyances or pain. 忍耐 (nintai) is more formal and implies a virtuous, long-term endurance. 辛抱 (shinbō) is similar to 忍耐 but often used for enduring a difficult life situation patiently.
電車の遅れを我慢する。
Put up with the train delay.
忍耐が試される。
One's endurance is tested.
貧乏を辛抱する。
Endure poverty patiently.
The loanword エンデュランス (endyuransu) is rarely used outside of specific sports or product names. It is not a natural translation for general endurance.
スタミナが切れた。
I ran out of endurance/stamina.
体力をつける。
Build up endurance/physical strength.
These shoes are durable and last long.
体育の授業で持久走をした。
We did an endurance run in PE class.