How to Say "Power Outage" in Japanese

停電

teiden[te̞ːdẽ̞ɴ]

The Japanese phrase for "power outage" is 停電 (teiden).

停電 refers to a period of time when the electricity supply to an area or building is stopped.

What does it mean word for word?

The word is composed of the kanji 停, meaning "stop" or "halt" and 電, meaning "electricity".

To say "during a power outage" or "while the power is out", add 中 (chū) to get 停電中.

teiden

In Japan, the sound of a power outage is often described as ブツッ, an onomatopoeia that mimics the sharp click or pop of a breaker tripping.
Japan has a specific term 計画停電 for 'planned outages', which became a common household phrase during the energy crisis following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.
While 'blackout' is understood, using the katakana version ブラックアウト can sometimes imply a much more massive, large-scale failure than the standard 停電.

わ！停電だ！ねえ、懐中電灯どこだった？
Oh no! It's a power outage! Hey, where was the flashlight again?
This sentence shows an exclamation regarding a sudden 停電.
Tatoeba #1031940 by bunbuku, translation #2610090 by WestofEden
停電があってさ、ビデオの時間をリセットしたんだけど、１時間ズレててさっ、録画取り損ねちゃったよ。
We had a power outage, so I had to reset the clock on my VCR. However, I was off by an hour, so the program I wanted to record wasn't recorded.
This sentence describes how a 停電 affected a VCR clock.
Tatoeba #9246001 by small_snow, translation #9246387 by CK
嵐で停電した。
The storm caused a power outage.
This sentence explains that a storm caused a 停電.
Tatoeba #78458 by mookeee, translation #1293100 by CK
大雨のため、この地域で停電が発生しました。
Due to heavy rain, a power outage occurred in this area.

Two people are talking at home during a stormy evening.

結衣 Yui

突然、停電になったね。
totsuzen, teiden ni natta ne.
A power outage suddenly happened, didn't it?
大翔 Hiroto

本当だ。真っ暗だよ。
hontou da. makkura da yo.
You're right. It's pitch black.
結衣 Yui

大翔くん、近くにキャンドルはある？
hiroto-kun, chikaku ni kyandoru wa aru?
Hiroto, do you have any candles nearby?
大翔 Hiroto

あ、キッチンにあるよ。探してくるね。
a, kicchin ni aru yo. sagashite kuru ne.
Ah, there are some in the kitchen. I'll go look for them.

Sources

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