Translation guide
The English word "slack" covers several distinct meanings: looseness, laziness, a period of reduced activity, and the messaging app. This guide helps you choose the right Japanese expression for each.
Describing something that is not pulled tight, such as a rope, string, or clothing.
General adjective for loose, slack, or not tight. Used for ropes, strings, screws, clothing, etc.
Describes something that has become slack or saggy, often due to loss of tension. Common for skin, ropes, or cables.
ロープがたるんでいる。
The rope is slack.
Similar to 緩い but emphasizes the state of having become loose. Often used for things that were previously tight.
靴ひもが緩んだ。
My shoelaces came loose.
Referring to a person not working hard, being negligent, or avoiding effort.
Verb meaning to be lazy, to slack off, to neglect one's duties.
彼は仕事を怠けている。
He is slacking off at work.
Literally 'pull out one's hand', meaning to cut corners, slack off, or not put in full effort.
彼はよく手を抜く。
He often slacks off.
Slang from 'sabotage', meaning to skip work or school, or to slack off. Very common in casual speech.
Noun or na-adjective meaning laziness, indolence. More formal and abstract than 怠ける.
A time when business is slow, or there is a lull in activity.
Off-season, slack period (for business).
今は閑散期です。
It's a slack period now.
Literally 'free time period', a more casual way to say slack period.
仕事が暇な時期だ。
It's a slack time at work.
Loanword from English, sometimes used in business contexts for 'slack' as in idle time or loose capacity.
Referring to the software application.
The app name is used as-is in Japanese, often written in Latin script.
Slackでメッセージを送ってください。
Please send me a message on Slack.
The loanword スラック is only used for the app or in some technical business contexts. For 'loose', use 緩い or たるんだ.
怠ける is a general word for laziness. サボる implies intentionally skipping or avoiding something specific, like work or class. サボる is more casual and can sound more negative.
I slacked off and skipped class.
Lead a life of sloth.
Build some slack into the project.