Translation guide
The English word "stale" covers several distinct meanings: food that is no longer fresh, air that is stuffy, ideas or jokes that are unoriginal, and a feeling of boredom from over-familiarity. Japanese uses different words for each of these.
Describing baked goods or dry snacks that have lost their crispness or softness due to exposure to air.
Used for dry, crispy foods like crackers or chips that have absorbed moisture and become soft and unappetizing.
このポテトチップス、ふやけてる。
These potato chips are stale.
Similar to ふやけた, but emphasizes the dampness. Often used for crackers, rice crackers, or dry snacks.
せんべいが湿気っちゃった。
The rice crackers have gone stale.
A general term meaning 'become old'. Can be used for bread, but is less specific. Often implies it's past its prime.
古くなったパンは硬い。
Stale bread is hard.
Describes a dry, crumbly texture, often for bread or cake that has lost moisture. Focuses on the mouthfeel.
このケーキ、パサパサしてるね。
This cake is a bit stale, isn't it?
Describing air in a room that feels heavy, lacking oxygen, or has an unpleasant smell because it hasn't been circulated.
Literally 'the air is trapped/stagnant'. The most natural way to say the air feels stale and stuffy.
部屋の空気がこもっているから、窓を開けよう。
The air in this room is stale, so let's open a window.
Means 'poor ventilation'. Often used to explain why the air feels stale.
この部屋は換気が悪くて、空気が淀んでいる。
This room has poor ventilation and the air is stale.
Literally 'stagnant air'. A more literary or descriptive term for stale, heavy air.
地下室には淀んだ空気が漂っていた。
Stale air hung in the basement.
Describing something that was once fresh or interesting but is now boring because it's been repeated too much.
Means 'commonplace', 'run-of-the-mill', or 'clichéd'. A very useful adjective for stale ideas or jokes.
彼のジョークはいつもありきたりだ。
His jokes are always stale.
Literally 'lacks freshness'. Directly parallels the English concept of staleness for ideas.
その提案には新鮮味がない。
That proposal is stale.
A formal, somewhat literary word meaning 'hackneyed' or 'trite'. Stronger than ありきたり.
陳腐な表現を避けるべきだ。
You should avoid stale expressions.
Literally 'worn out from use'. Can describe a stale metaphor or idea that has been overused.
その比喩は使い古されている。
That metaphor is stale.
Describing a personal feeling of being tired of something because you've done it too much, or a relationship that has lost its spark.
From 'mannerism', meaning stuck in a rut. Very common for stale relationships or routines.
結婚生活がマンネリ化している。
Our marriage has become stale.
Means 'to be thoroughly sick of' or 'fed up with'. Expresses a strong feeling of staleness from repetition.
毎日同じ仕事で飽き飽きしている。
I'm stale from doing the same work every day.
Literally 'no stimulation'. Describes a stale situation that lacks excitement.
最近、人生に刺激がない。
Lately, life feels stale.
While 古い (furui) means 'old', it doesn't capture the nuance of 'stale' for food or air. For food, use specific words like ふやけた or 湿気った. For air, use こもっている. 古い is mainly for objects or information that are aged, not for loss of freshness.
Both describe dry foods that have absorbed moisture. ふやけた focuses on the resulting soft, swollen texture (like a wet cracker). 湿気った focuses on the dampness itself. They are often interchangeable, but ふやけた is slightly more common in speech.