(はっこう)ダイオード

はっこうだいおーど
noun
light-emitting diode; LED
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(はっこう)ダイオードは長持(ながも)ちする。
Light-emitting diodes last a long time.
この製品(せいひん)発光(はっこう)ダイオードを使(つか)っているので(しょう)エネだ。
This product uses light-emitting diodes, so it is energy-efficient.
発光(はっこう)ダイオードは電球(でんきゅう)(くら)べて寿命(じゅみょう)(なが)く、消費(しょうひ)電力(でんりょく)(すく)ない。
Compared to incandescent bulbs, light-emitting diodes have a long lifespan and consume less electricity.

Compound of 発光(はっこう) (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(はっこう)ダイオード照明(しょうめい): LED lighting
  • 白色(はくしょく)発光(はっこう)ダイオード: white LED
  • 青色(あおしょく)発光(はっこう)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(でんきゅう): light bulb — general term for a bulb, often contrasted with LEDs
  • 蛍光灯(けいこうとう): fluorescent light — an older lighting technology now being replaced by LEDs