1.
baseball cap — a soft cap with a stiff visor at the front, worn by baseball players and as casual headwear
A cap with a rounded crown and a stiff visor in front, originally designed for baseball players but now widely worn as casual headwear. In Japan the term is used both for the uniform caps of baseball teams and for the everyday fashion item (which is often also called キャップ in modern usage).
Compound of 野球 ('baseball') and 帽 (the on-reading of 帽子, 'hat').
Usage
- Refers both to the specific baseball uniform cap and to any visored casual cap of the same shape.
- In modern casual speech, the loanword キャップ is very common and often interchangeable with 野球帽 for everyday wear. 野球帽 emphasizes the baseball-cap shape or origin.
- The verb used for wearing a cap is かぶる, not する or きる.
Common collocations
- 野球帽をかぶる: to put on / wear a baseball cap
- 野球帽を脱ぐ: to take off a baseball cap
- チームの野球帽: a team baseball cap
- お気に入りの野球帽: a favorite baseball cap
Similar words
- キャップ: cap — the more common everyday loanword; often refers to the same kind of visored cap.
- 帽子: hat, cap (general) — covers all headwear, including straw hats, knit caps, and formal hats.
- ハット: hat — usually refers to brimmed fashion hats such as fedoras or bucket hats.
- 麦わら帽子: straw hat — a different style of summer headwear.
Register
Neutral. キャップ tends to sound more modern and fashion-oriented; 野球帽 is a clearer, more descriptive term often used in writing or when specifying the baseball-style shape.