1.
recording device; (audio) recorder; tape recorder
A device for making audio recordings. Historically referred to tape and reel-to-reel machines; today the word is still used generically for audio recorders, though in casual conversation about handheld digital recorders speakers usually say {ボイスレコーダー} or ICレコーダー instead.
録音機をオンにする。
To turn on the recorder.
父は古い録音機をずっと使っている。
My father has been using an old recorder for a long time.
会議の内容を録音機で記録しておいた。
I recorded the contents of the meeting on an audio recorder.
昔は大きなテープの録音機を使っていたが、今はスマホ1台で十分だ。
In the past we used big tape recorders, but today a single smartphone is enough.
Composed of 録音 (sound recording) and the suffix -機 (machine, device). The native Sino-Japanese term for a sound-recording device, contrasting with the katakana loanword レコーダー.
USAGE:
In writing and more formal contexts, 録音機 is often preferred, particularly when discussing audio recording in general terms or historical equipment. In everyday spoken Japanese, the more specific loanwords ボイスレコーダー} or ICレコーダー are more common when referring to modern handheld digital recorders. {録音機 can sound slightly old-fashioned when used for very current consumer devices.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 録音機を使う: to use a recorder
- 録音機を作動させる: to operate / run a recorder
- 録音機で録音する: to make a recording on a recorder
- 小型の録音機: a small / compact recorder
- 携帯録音機: a portable recorder
SIMILAR WORDS:
- レコーダー: recorder — the katakana loanword; covers both audio and video recorders, and is the more common everyday term for modern devices
- {ボイスレコーダー}: voice recorder — a handheld audio recorder for speech (interviews, notes)
- ICレコーダー: IC recorder; digital voice recorder — the solid-state successor to cassette voice recorders; often overlaps with {ボイスレコーダー}
- テープレコーダー: tape recorder — specifically a cassette tape recorder
- 録画機: video recorder — parallel formation with 画 (image) instead of 音 (sound)