Power, battery, sound
Collocations, Stage 4chunk 3 of 25Phone, photos & screens
Switching a device on and off, and the times it stops working: a dead battery or no sound.
- dengen o kiruturn off (a phone or device)
- dengen o ireruturn on (a phone or device)
- juuden ga kirerubattery runs out, dies
- oto ga derusound comes out (of a TV, speaker, phone)
Mix-ups dengen o ireru / kiru (you switch it on or off) vs juuden ga kireru (it runs out on its own) is transitive kiru vs intransitive kireru, as in denwa o kiru / denwa ga kireta. Lights and the TV take tsukeru / kesu, and oto ga deru (sound comes out of a device) is not oto ga suru (you hear a noise).
dengen o kiru
polite dengen o kirimasuturn off (a phone or device)
電源を切る でんげんをきる 電源を切ります
verbkiru 切るcut; cut off (a call, the power)typical 37% of dengen
trap Not sumaho o kesu: powering a phone or device down is dengen o kiru ('cut the power'), with the device joined by no (sumaho no dengen kitte), or casually just keitai kitte; dengen o otosu is common too. Sumaho kesu can sound like turning only the screen off; kesu is for lights and the TV, though pasokon kesu is heard.
Said about switching off a phone or other device, as an excuse (gomen, dengen kitteta = sorry, my phone was off) or a fix (ikkai dengen kitte mite). Cinema and exam announcements say keitai denwa no dengen o okiri kudasai. Casual speech drops o.
ikkai dengen kitte mite.
Try turning it off for a moment.
一回電源切ってみて。
ichido dengen o kitte mite kudasai.
Please try turning it off for a moment.
一度電源を切ってみてください。
On is dengen o ireru, and a phone that won't start is dengen ga hairanai (or tsukanai); one that shuts itself off is dengen kireta. Shutting down a computer is often dengen o otosu (pasokon otoshita). The kiru is the one in denwa o kiru.
Same verb: suitchi (switch), eakon (air conditioner; kesu works too), tsuuchi (notifications), waifai (Wi-Fi)Learn alongside: denki o tsukeru, denki o kesu, denki ga tsuku, dengen o ireruMain list: ireru (Stage 4)
dengen o ireru
polite dengen o iremasuturn on (a phone or device)
電源を入れる でんげんをいれる 電源を入れます
verbireru 入れるput in; switch on (the power, a switch)typical 16% of dengen
trap English 'turn on' pulls toward tsukeru, the verb for the appliance itself (denki, terebi, eakon). The power or a switch usually takes ireru ('put in'); dengen tsukeru is heard, but much less. Join the device with no: sumaho no dengen irete.
Said about switching on a phone, computer or machine, often while troubleshooting: dengen ireta? (did you turn it on?). A device that won't start is dengen ga hairanai (or tsukanai), with intransitive hairu. Casual speech drops o.
chanto dengen ireta?
Did you actually turn it on?
ちゃんと電源入れた？
sumimasen, purojekutaa no dengen o irete moraemasu ka?
Excuse me, could you turn on the projector?
すみません、プロジェクターの電源を入れてもらえますか？
Off is dengen o kiru. For a computer, pasokon tsukeru and kidou suru (boot up) are heard too.
Same verb: suitchi (switch), danbou (heating), eakon (air conditioner; tsukeru is more usual)Learn alongside: denki o tsukeru, denki o kesu, denki ga tsuku, dengen o kiruMain list: ireru (Stage 4), hairu (Stage 1), -te moraeru? (Stage 2)
juuden ga kireru
polite juuden ga kiremasubattery runs out, dies
充電が切れる じゅうでんがきれる 充電が切れます
verbkireru 切れるbe cut; run out (of a supply, charge or time)typical 3% of juuden
trap Not shinu: a dead phone is juuden kireta ('the charge ran out'). denchi kireta, juuden nakunatta and batterii kireta are also fine; sumaho shinda is slang.
Said when a phone dies, in the past: juuden kireta / kirechatta (my phone died). About to die is juuden kiresou (or juuden yabai, slangy); low but not dead is juuden ga nai.
gomen, juuden kirechatta.
Sorry, my phone died.
ごめん、充電切れちゃった。
sumimasen, juuden ga kirechaimashita.
Sorry, my phone died.
すみません、充電が切れちゃいました。
Charging is the plain verb juuden suru. The same kireru is a dropped call: denwa kireta (the call cut off). Switching the phone off yourself is dengen o kiru, the transitive half.
Same verb: batterii (battery), denchi (battery, including a phone's), kigen (expiry date), kusuri (medicine, wearing off)Learn alongside: kigen ga kireru
oto ga deru
polite oto ga demasusound comes out (of a TV, speaker, phone)
音が出る おとがでる 音が出ます
verbderu 出るcome out, go out; appeartypical 3% of oto
trap Not oto ga ugokanai: when a TV, speaker or call goes silent, the sound 'doesn't come out', oto ga denai. oto nai is heard too, and it is the plain way to say a clip has no sound at all: kono douga, oto nai yo.
Said about TVs, speakers, laptops and video calls, most often in the negative or as a check: oto denai (there's no sound), oto deteru? (is there sound?). ga is usually dropped, and on a call oto dete nai yo means your sound isn't coming through.
are, oto denai n da kedo.
Huh, there's no sound.
あれ、音出ないんだけど。
are, oto ga denai n desu kedo.
Huh, there's no sound.
あれ、音が出ないんですけど。
Different from oto ga suru (you hear a noise). Muting is oto o kesu; turning it down is oto o sageru.
Same verb: onsei (audio), eizou (picture), mizu (water, from a tap), oyu (hot water)Learn alongside: nioi ga suru, oto ga suru, koe ga kikoeru, aji ga suruMain list: deru (Stage 1), aru (Stage 1), n da kedo (Stage 1)