鋳型(いがた)

いがた
noun
mold; casting mold
1. mold; casting mold
A shaped container into which molten metal or other material is poured to produce a specific form.
鋳型(いがた)に金属(きんぞく)を流(なが)し込(こ)む。
Pour metal into the mold.
この銅像(どうぞう)は砂(すな)の鋳型(いがた)を使(つか)って作(つく)られた。
This bronze statue was made using a sand mold.
鋳型(いがた)から取(と)り出(だ)した製品(せいひん)の表面(ひょうめん)を磨(みが)く。
Polish the surface of the product removed from the mold.
2. fixed pattern; rigid template
A figurative template or set pattern that constrains originality, often used critically.
鋳型(いがた)にはまった考(かんが)え方(かた)だ。
That's a rigid way of thinking.
教育(きょういく)は子供(こども)を鋳型(いがた)にはめるものではない。
Education should not force children into a fixed mold.
古(ふる)い鋳型(いがた)を壊(こわ)して新(あたら)しい発想(はっそう)を生(う)み出(だ)すべきだ。
We should break the old mold and generate new ideas.

Literally a mold used in metal casting, but widely used figuratively to describe rigid patterns or templates that constrain individuality. The figurative use is especially common in discussions of education, creativity, and social conformity.

COMMON COLLOCATIONS:

  • 鋳型(いがた)にはめる — force into a mold, make uniform
  • 鋳型(いがた)にはまる — fit into a mold, be formulaic
  • 鋳型(いがた)を作(つく)る — make a mold
  • 鋳型(いがた)を壊(こわ)す — break the mold

SIMILAR WORDS:

  • 型(かた) — form, mold, pattern; broader and more general than 鋳型(いがた)
  • 金型(かながた) — metal die or mold used in industrial manufacturing; more technical and specific to modern mass production
  • 枠(わく) — frame, framework; used figuratively in similar ways (枠(わく)にはめる) but lacks the casting/metalwork origin
general
Added 2026.4.18 22:13
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