[Article / Patents] Terms to avoid in specifications from a translator’s perspective—particularly “jisha,” “jisōchi” and “jisharyō” (倉増一, Patent, March 2025)
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Article information
Categories: Patents
Topics: Patent drafting and translation
Published on this website: 2026-09-29
[Article / Patents] Terms to avoid in specifications from a translator’s perspective—particularly “jisha,” “jisōchi” and “jisharyō” (倉増一, Patent, March 2025)
1. The problem with “jisha” (one’s own company) and “tasha” (other companies)
Problem: They are often rendered in English as grammatically incorrect expressions such as “its own company” or “an own company” (“own” needs a possessive pronoun).
Suggested improvement: Use “a company” at the first mention and “the company” thereafter. Consider “in-house” for an internal nuance. Make “tasha” specific as “another company” or “competitor.”
2. The ambiguity of “jisōchi” (one’s own device)
Problem: Casually translating “its processing” as “processing of one’s own device” can leave unclear, depending on context, whether it means the component’s own processing or processing by the entire system.
Suggested improvement: Use “this device” or “the device itself.” In communications and similar fields, distinguish devices by role, such as “host device” and “client device.”
3. “Jisharyō” (one’s own vehicle) and “tasharyō” (other vehicles)
Problem: Although “host vehicle” is customarily translated as “jisharyō,” subjective expressions should be avoided at the Japanese drafting stage.
Suggested improvement: Use literal, objective terms such as “host vehicle” or “subject vehicle.”
Also make “tasharyō” specific as “target vehicle” or “surrounding vehicle” to prevent confusion when multiple vehicles appear.
Advice to specification drafters:
Use objective expressions consistently: Instead of “ji” (own/self), use “that,” “this” or specific names (host, first, etc.).
Adopt specific designations: State device names and vehicle roles expressly to facilitate “meaning-equivalent,” rather than “character-equivalent,” translation.
Originally posted on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7510491039078518785/
