ブレーキ（ブレーキ、bureーki）
- brake

The Japanese word ブレーキ (ブレーキ) means "brake" in English. It refers to a device used to slow down or stop a moving vehicle or machine. It works by applying friction to reduce the speed or halt the motion. The term encompasses various types of braking systems, such as those found in cars, bicycles, trains, and other forms of transportation. The word can also be used metaphorically to describe something that prevents or restricts progress or action.

⚫︎車のブレーキが壊れました。 Translation: The car's brakes are broken. ⚫︎自転車のブレーキをかけて止まりました。 Translation: I applied the brakes on my bicycle and stopped. ⚫︎会社は新規プロジェクトにブレーキをかけた。 Translation: The company put the brakes on the new project.

You use ブレーキ (ブレーキ) when talking about stopping or slowing down a vehicle or machine. It's also used figuratively to describe something that stops or slows down a process. You'll hear and use this word frequently when discussing transportation, mechanics, or even business contexts where something is being halted or restrained. You can also use the verb form, ブレーキする, meaning "to brake" or "to apply the brakes".

ブレーキ is written in katakana, ブ・レ・ー・キ, because it's a loanword from English ("brake"). There is no Kanji form, and there are no variations in okurigana. It is always written in katakana.

⚫︎ 制動装置 (seido souchi) - braking system. This is a more technical term.

There aren't direct antonyms in the same sense, but concepts related to accelerating or moving forward could be considered opposites. Examples include: ⚫︎ アクセル (akuseru) - accelerator (gas pedal) ⚫︎ 加速 (kasoku) - acceleration

急な坂道でブレーキを強くかけました。 ・Translation: I applied the brakes strongly on the steep slope. ・Explanation: This sentence describes applying the brakes on a steep road, emphasizing the action.

彼はプロジェクトにブレーキをかけることを決めた。 ・Translation: He decided to put the brakes on the project. ・Explanation: This sentence uses ブレーキ figuratively to mean stopping or halting progress on a project.

The word ブレーキ (ブレーキ) comes directly from the English word "brake." It was adopted into Japanese to describe the mechanism used to slow down or stop vehicles or machinery.