Technology Vocabulary

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to recognize and use 20 N3-level vocabulary words related to technology, society, and everyday situations. You'll understand their meanings, readings, and how to use them in context.

Technology vocabulary in Japanese often overlaps with words about society, daily life, and natural phenomena. Many of these words use the same kanji in different combinations, so learning them together helps you see patterns. For example, 混 (kon) appears in words about mixing and congestion, while 減 (gen) appears in words about decreasing.混減

Group 1: Society & Economy

• 海外 (かいがい / kaigai) — foreign, abroad
  • 海 (sea) + 外 (outside) = outside the sea → overseas海外
  海外
• 消費 (しょうひ / shouhi) — consumption, expenditure
  • 消 (extinguish) + 費 (cost) = using up resources消費
  消費
• 消防 (しょうぼう / shoubou) — fire fighting
  • 消 (extinguish) + 防 (prevent) = fire prevention/fighting消防
  消防

Group 2: Seriousness & Condition

• 深刻 (しんこく / shinkoku) — serious, severe
  • 深 (deep) + 刻 (carve) = deeply carved → grave situation深刻
  深刻
• 清潔 (せいけつ / seiketsu) — clean, sanitary
  • 清 (pure) + 潔 (clean) = very clean清潔
  清潔

Group 3: Mixing & Congestion

• 混ぜる (まぜる / mazeru) — to mix, to stir混
• 混乱 (こんらん / konran) — disorder, chaos混乱
• 混雑 (こんざつ / konzatsu) — congestion, jam混雑
• 渋滞 (じゅうたい / juutai) — congestion, stagnation (especially traffic)渋滞

Group 4: Decreasing

• 減らす (へらす / herasu) — to abate, to decrease (transitive)減
• 減る (へる / heru) — to decrease (intransitive)減
• 減少 (げんしょう / genshou) — decrease, decline (noun)減少

Group 5: Temperature & Humidity

• 温める (あたためる / atatameru) — to warm, to heat温
• 温度 (おんど / ondo) — temperature温度
• 温暖 (おんだん / ondan) — warm, mild (climate)温暖
• 温泉 (おんせん / onsen) — hot spring温泉
• 湿度 (しつど / shitsudo) — level of humidity湿度
• 湿気 (しっけ / shikke) — moisture, humidity, dampness湿気

Group 6: Geography & Finishing

• 湾 (わん / wan) — bay, gulf湾
• 済ませる (すませる / sumaseru) — to finish (something)済

1. 海外旅行が好きです。
   Kaigai ryokou ga suki desu.
   I like traveling abroad.海外旅行好

   海外旅行好

2. このアプリは消費電力を表示します。
   Kono apuri wa shouhi denryoku wo hyouji shimasu.
   This app displays power consumption.消費電力表示

   消費電力表示

3. 交通渋滞が深刻です。
   Koutsuu juutai ga shinkoku desu.
   The traffic congestion is serious.交通渋滞深刻

   交通渋滞深刻

4. 材料をよく混ぜてください。
   Zairyou wo yoku mazete kudasai.
   Please mix the ingredients well.材料混

   材料混

5. エラーが減少しました。
   Eraa ga genshou shimashita.
   The errors decreased.減少

   減少

6. 湿度が高いと湿気が気になります。
   Shitsudo ga takai to shikke ga ki ni narimasu.
   When humidity is high, the dampness bothers me.湿度高気

   湿度高気

❌ 混ぜる (mazeru) and 混乱 (konran) look similar but are different:混乱

• 混ぜる = to mix (action verb)混
• 混乱 = chaos (noun)混乱

❌ 減らす vs 減る:減

• 減らす = someone reduces something (I reduce the volume)減
• 減る = something decreases by itself (The volume decreased)減

❌ 温度 vs 湿度:温度湿

• 温度 = temperature (how hot/cold)温度
• 湿度 = humidity (how much moisture in air)湿度

Fill in the blanks with the correct word:

1. このソフトはバグを___（へらす / へる）ことができます。
   This software can reduce bugs.

2. 駅の___（こんざつ / こんらん）で電車が遅れました。
   The train was delayed due to station congestion.駅電車遅

   駅電車遅

3. 料理を___（あたためる / おんだん）必要があります。
   I need to warm up the food.料理必要

   料理必要

4. 空気の___（おんど / しつど）をチェックしてください。
   Please check the air temperature.空気

   空気

5. 仕事を___（すませる / へらす）まで帰れません。
   I can't go home until I finish the work.仕事帰

   仕事帰

You've learned 20 N3 vocabulary words covering:

• Society/economy (海外, 消費, 消防)海外消費防
• Conditions (深刻, 清潔)深刻清潔
• Mixing/congestion (混ぜる, 混乱, 混雑, 渋滞)混乱雑渋滞
• Decreasing (減らす, 減る, 減少)減少
• Temperature/humidity (温める, 温度, 温暖, 温泉, 湿度, 湿気)温度暖泉湿気
• Geography/finishing (湾, 済ませる)湾済

Next step: Practice using these words in sentences about technology. Try describing a smartphone app that helps with traffic congestion (渋滞), or a smart home device that controls temperature (温度) and humidity (湿度). Review the transitive/intransitive verb pairs (減らす/減る) as they appear frequently in technical contexts.渋滞温度湿減