1.
bottle cap; bottle lid
The cap or lid that seals a bottle — whether a twist-off plastic cap on a PET bottle, a metal crown cap on a beer bottle, or a screw-top lid on a glass jar. A general term covering all types of bottle closures.
Compound of 瓶 ('bottle') and 蓋 ('lid; cover'), with ふた shifting to ぶた by rendaku. A general-purpose word for any type of bottle closure, from beer-bottle crown caps to water-bottle screw tops.
Usage
- Often appears in everyday contexts such as asking someone to open a stuck cap, or in childproofing and recycling instructions.
- In recycling, plastic caps are usually separated from glass or PET bottles before disposal — so the word appears in garbage-sorting guides.
- The verb 開ける ('to open') is most common; 外す ('to remove') and 閉める ('to close / tighten') also occur.
Common collocations
- 瓶蓋を開ける: to open a bottle cap
- 瓶蓋を閉める: to close / tighten a bottle cap
- 瓶蓋を外す: to remove the bottle cap
- 瓶蓋が固い: the cap is tight
- 瓶蓋が開かない: the cap won't open
Similar words
- 王冠: crown cap — specifically the toothed metal cap on beer and soda bottles; also means 'crown' (as worn by royalty).
- キャップ: cap — loanword used especially for screw-on plastic caps on PET bottles.
- 栓: stopper; plug — covers cork stoppers and similar non-screw closures on wine or sake bottles.
- 蓋: lid — general term for any lid or cover, not limited to bottles.
- ボトルキャップ: bottle cap — katakana equivalent, common in product descriptions and marketing.