1.
a desk; a piece of furniture used as a workspace, typically for writing, reading, or computer work in an office, school, or home study
The English loanword for a work desk. In Japanese it usually refers to a Western-style office or study desk used in workplaces and modern homes, as opposed to the traditional low writing table 机, although the two words overlap heavily in everyday speech. デスク is especially common in business contexts and product names.
2.
a desk editor; a senior journalist at a newspaper or broadcaster who supervises reporters and edits their stories
A specialized journalism sense. The desk editor at a Japanese newspaper or TV news department is the mid-level editor who reviews articles, gives assignments, and oversees a group of reporters from a desk in the newsroom. The role is roughly equivalent to a city editor or section editor in English-language news organizations.
That article will be published after it has been checked by the desk editor.
I received instructions from the city-news desk editor to head to the scene immediately.
The English loanword 'desk', borrowed mainly for two purposes: the piece of office furniture, and a senior editor's role in a newsroom. Sense 1 is by far the most common in everyday Japanese.
Usage
For sense 1, デスク overlaps with the native word 机. 机 is the more general and traditional word, used freely for school desks, study desks, low writing tables, and so on. デスク has a slightly more modern, office-furniture flavour and is preferred when describing Western-style workstations, in product catalogues, and in expressions like パソコンデスク and オフィスデスク.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS (sense 1):
- デスクに向かう: to sit down at one's desk; to get to work
- デスクに座る: to sit at a desk
- デスクを整理する: to organize one's desk
- デスクワーク: desk work, office work (a wasei-eigo compound)
- デスクトップ: desktop (computer)
- パソコンデスク: computer desk
- オフィスデスク: office desk
- 昇降式デスク: height-adjustable (sit-stand) desk
COMMON COLLOCATIONS (sense 2):
- デスクの指示: instructions from the desk editor
- デスクの確認を取る: to get the desk editor's approval
- 社会部デスク: city-news desk editor
- 現場デスク: on-site desk editor
Similar words
- 机: desk, table — the native word, broader and more neutral; preferred for school desks and traditional writing tables.
- 事務机: office desk — a more formal native equivalent of オフィスデスク.
- 編集者: editor — a general word for any kind of editor (books, magazines, news); デスク is specifically the supervising editor in a newsroom.
- キャップ: cap — in journalism slang, the leader of a small reporting team in the field, ranking below a デスク.
Register
Neutral. Sense 2 is journalism jargon and is used both inside news organizations and in articles or memoirs about the industry.
Related Words
Compare:
机 (desk, table)
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事務机 (office desk)
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編集者 (editor)
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キャップ (cap)