1.
light-emitting diode; LED
A semiconductor device that emits light when an electric current flows through it. The full Japanese term for what is usually abbreviated as LED.
発光ダイオードは長持ちする。
Light-emitting diodes last a long time.
この製品は発光ダイオードを使っているので省エネだ。
This product uses light-emitting diodes, so it is energy-efficient.
発光ダイオードは電球に比べて寿命が長く、消費電力も少ない。
Compared to incandescent bulbs, light-emitting diodes have a long lifespan and consume less electricity.
Compound of 発光 (emission of light) and the loanword ダイオード (diode). This is the formal technical name; in everyday speech, LED (エルイーディー, though commonly read as a Japanese acronym) is far more common.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 発光ダイオード照明: LED lighting
- 白色発光ダイオード: white LED
- 青色発光ダイオード: blue LED — the invention that won the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics
SIMILAR WORDS:
- LED: the everyday abbreviation, widely used in product labels and conversation
- 電球: light bulb — general term for a bulb, often contrasted with LEDs
- 蛍光灯: fluorescent light — an older lighting technology now being replaced by LEDs