Translation guide
The English word "nest" can refer to a bird's home, a cozy place, or a set of similar things. This guide covers how to express these ideas naturally in Japanese.
A structure built by birds to lay eggs and raise young.
The most common and general word for a bird's nest. Can also refer to nests of other animals like insects or rodents.
木の上に鳥の巣がある。
There is a bird's nest in the tree.
ツバメが軒下に巣を作った。
A swallow built a nest under the eaves.
Literally "bird's nest". Used when you need to specify it's a bird's nest, or in contexts like bird's nest soup.
鳥の巣を見つけた。
I found a bird's nest.
A place where small animals live and breed.
Used for nests of insects (bees, ants), spiders, rodents, etc.
ハチの巣が軒下にある。
There is a wasp nest under the eaves.
ネズミが壁の中に巣を作っている。
Mice are nesting inside the wall.
A comfortable, snug place where one feels safe, often used figuratively.
Can be used metaphorically for a cozy home or love nest, but often sounds literary or poetic.
彼は自分の巣に帰っていった。
He went back to his nest (home).
Literally "love nest", used for a couple's cozy home.
In everyday conversation, Japanese speakers rarely use 巣 for their own home. Instead, they say 我が家 (my/our home) or describe it as a comfortable place.
やっぱり我が家が一番落ち着く。
After all, there's no place like home (my nest).
この部屋は本当に居心地がいい。
This room is really cozy (like a nest).
A group of objects that fit inside one another or are stacked.
Refers to a set of nested objects, like boxes or tables that fit inside each other. Often used as a noun modifier.
Verb meaning "to stack" or "to pile up". Used when objects are placed on top of each other, not necessarily fitting inside.
Money saved for the future.
General word for savings. Not a direct translation of "nest egg", but the most natural way to express the concept.
老後のために貯金している。
I'm saving for retirement (building a nest egg).
Secret savings, often hidden from one's spouse. Closer to the idea of a personal nest egg.
To place one element inside another in a hierarchy.
Verb phrase meaning "to nest" in a technical sense, like nesting tags or functions.
HTMLでは要素を入れ子にすることができる。
In HTML, you can nest elements.
Loanword from English, used in programming contexts.
関数をネストしすぎると読みにくくなる。
Nesting functions too much makes the code hard to read.
While 巣 can metaphorically mean a cozy home, it's not common in daily speech. Using it for your own home can sound overly poetic or strange. Stick to 家 (いえ) or 我が家 (わがや) for normal conversation.
入れ子 means objects fit inside each other (like Russian dolls). 重ねる means they are stacked on top of each other (like plates). Use the right one depending on the physical relationship.
鳥が木に巣を作った。
The birds built a nest in the tree.
彼女はちょっとした貯金がある。
She has a nice little nest egg saved up.
リビングに入れ子式のテーブルを買った。
I bought a nest of tables for the living room.
The two set up their love nest in the suburbs.
椅子を重ねて収納する。
Stack the chairs for storage.
妻に内緒でへそくりをためている。
I'm secretly saving a nest egg without my wife knowing.