Muda
無駄- Say it
- MOO-dah
- Reading
- むだ
- Literally
- Uselessness, futility.
- In lean
- Any activity that uses time or resources but adds no value for the customer, such as waiting, rework or extra movement.
Japanese lean terms: meaning and pronunciation
The 35 Japanese words you hear most in lean, plus one German one: how each is written, how to say it, what it means word for word and what it means on the shop floor, with a link to the glossary entry and guide.
How to read the pronunciation: capitals mark the syllable English speakers usually stress. Japanese gives each syllable about the same weight, so saying them evenly is closer to the original. A u between consonants is often barely said, as in shitsuke.
Waste
The three words Toyota uses for what gets in the way of good work.
Mura
ムラ (斑)- Say it
- MOO-rah
- Reading
- むら
- Literally
- Unevenness, irregularity.
- In lean
- Unevenness in workload or flow, such as a schedule that swings from rush to idle. Mura is often what causes muri and muda.
Muri
無理- Say it
- MOO-ree
- Reading
- むり
- Literally
- Unreasonable, beyond what is possible.
- In lean
- Overburden: pushing people or machines past what they can sustain, which leads to breakdowns, mistakes and injuries.
Improvement
Words for how a plant gets better, from small daily changes to a complete redesign.
Kaizen
改善- Say it
- KAI-zen (KAI as in kite)
- Reading
- かいぜん
- Literally
- Change for the better: 改 (change) and 善 (good).
- In lean
- Continuous improvement through small, frequent changes made by the people who do the work.
Kaizen teian
改善提案- Say it
- KAI-zen TAY-ahn
- Reading
- かいぜんていあん
- Literally
- Improvement proposal.
- In lean
- A system for collecting and acting on small improvement ideas from individual employees, most of which they can make in their own area.
Kaikaku
改革- Say it
- KAI-kah-koo
- Reading
- かいかく
- Literally
- Reform.
- In lean
- A large, fast step change, such as moving a line into cells. Kaizen then stabilizes and refines the new way of working.
Jishuken
自主研- Say it
- JEE-shoo-ken
- Reading
- じしゅけん
- Literally
- Self-directed study, short for 自主研究会 (self-directed study group).
- In lean
- A hands-on workshop where managers or engineers improve a real process at the gemba to build their own kaizen skills.
Yokoten
横展- Say it
- YOH-koh-ten
- Reading
- よこてん
- Literally
- Sideways spread, short for 横展開 (horizontal deployment).
- In lean
- Sharing a proven improvement across lines, shifts and sites, where the receiving teams go and see it and then adapt it.
Flow and pull
Words for moving work at the pace of demand, with as little waiting and stock as possible.
Takt
タクト- Say it
- TAHKT (like tact)
- Reading
- タクト (German word)
- Literally
- German for beat or pulse, as in the beat a conductor keeps. Japanese borrowed it as タクト.
- In lean
- Takt time: the pace at which products must be finished to meet customer demand, available time divided by demand.
Kanban
看板- Say it
- KAHN-bahn
- Reading
- かんばん
- Literally
- Signboard.
- In lean
- A signal, usually a card, that authorizes a process to make or move a set quantity of parts, so production is pulled by actual use.
Heijunka
平準化- Say it
- HAY-joon-kah
- Reading
- へいじゅんか
- Literally
- Leveling: making flat and even.
- In lean
- Smoothing the volume and mix of production over time instead of following every swing in orders.
Chaku-chaku
着々 (チャクチャク)- Say it
- CHAH-koo CHAH-koo
- Reading
- ちゃくちゃく
- Literally
- Steadily, step by step. In lean it is usually explained as load-load.
- In lean
- A cell where machines unload automatically and the operator only loads the next part at each station, walking the cell in order.
Ikko nagashi
一個流し- Say it
- EEK-koh nah-GAH-shee
- Reading
- いっこながし
- Literally
- Flowing one piece.
- In lean
- One-piece flow: moving products through the process one unit at a time instead of in batches.
Mizusumashi
水すまし- Say it
- MEE-zoo-soo-MAH-shee
- Reading
- みずすまし
- Literally
- A water strider, the insect that darts across the surface of a pond.
- In lean
- A water spider: a material handler on a fixed, timed route who keeps parts at the point of use and carries the pull signals.
Dandori-gae
段取り替え- Say it
- DAHN-doh-ree GAH-eh
- Reading
- だんどりがえ
- Literally
- Changing the setup.
- In lean
- A changeover. SMED is the method for cutting the time from the last good part of one product to the first good part of the next.
Single-minute exchange of die (SMED) in the glossaryRead the guide
Quality and problems
Words for building quality in and dealing with problems where they happen.
Jidoka
自働化- Say it
- JEE-doh-kah
- Reading
- じどうか, jidōka
- Literally
- Automation with a human touch. Toyota writes it with 働 (work, with the radical for person) instead of the usual 動 (move).
- In lean
- Building quality in by stopping the process as soon as something is wrong, so defects are not passed on. One of the two pillars of the Toyota Production System.
Andon
行灯- Say it
- AHN-don
- Reading
- あんどん
- Literally
- A paper lantern.
- In lean
- A light or signal an operator uses to call for help when a problem happens at a station.
Poka-yoke
ポカヨケ- Say it
- POH-kah YOH-keh
- Reading
- ぽかよけ
- Literally
- Avoiding inadvertent mistakes: ポカ (a careless slip) and よけ (avoiding).
- In lean
- Mistake-proofing: a device or method that prevents an error or makes it obvious at once, so it cannot become a defect.
Gemba
現場- Say it
- GEM-bah (also spelled genba)
- Reading
- げんば
- Literally
- The actual place.
- In lean
- Where value is created, most often the shop floor, and the place to go to understand a problem.
Genchi genbutsu
現地現物- Say it
- GEN-chee GEN-boo-tsoo
- Reading
- げんちげんぶつ
- Literally
- Actual place, actual thing.
- In lean
- Going to the source to see a problem for yourself before deciding what to do.
Sangen shugi
三現主義- Say it
- SAHN-gen SHOO-gee
- Reading
- さんげんしゅぎ
- Literally
- The principle of the three actuals.
- In lean
- Checking the actual place, the actual thing and the actual facts before deciding anything about a problem.
Jishu hozen
自主保全- Say it
- JEE-shoo HOH-zen
- Reading
- じしゅほぜん
- Literally
- Self-directed maintenance.
- In lean
- Autonomous maintenance: operators take on basic care of their equipment, cleaning, inspecting, lubricating and spotting problems early.
The five S words
5S comes from five Japanese words that all start with S. English versions keep the S: sort, set in order, shine, standardize, sustain.
Seiri
整理- Say it
- SAY-ree
- Reading
- せいり
- Literally
- Putting in order, sorting out.
- In lean
- Sort: remove everything the area does not need.
Seiton
整頓- Say it
- SAY-tohn
- Reading
- せいとん
- Literally
- Tidiness, orderliness.
- In lean
- Set in order: give everything that is left a marked place, so anyone can find it and see when it is missing.
Seiso
清掃- Say it
- SAY-soh
- Reading
- せいそう, seisō
- Literally
- Cleaning.
- In lean
- Shine: clean the area and equipment, and inspect while cleaning so leaks, wear and damage are found early.
Seiketsu
清潔- Say it
- SAY-ket-soo
- Reading
- せいけつ
- Literally
- Cleanliness, hygiene.
- In lean
- Standardize: write down and show how the area should look, so the first three S steps become the normal way.
Shitsuke
躾- Say it
- SHEE-tsoo-keh (often SHTS-keh)
- Reading
- しつけ
- Literally
- Discipline, upbringing, good manners.
- In lean
- Sustain: keep the standard through habit, regular audits and leaders checking, so the area does not slide back.
Leadership and planning
Words for how leaders set direction, decide and learn.
Hoshin kanri
方針管理- Say it
- HOH-sheen KAHN-ree
- Reading
- ほうしんかんり, hōshin kanri
- Literally
- Direction management: 方針 (policy, a compass heading) and 管理 (management).
- In lean
- Strategy deployment: linking a few breakthrough goals to the work of every level, cascaded through catchball and reviewed on a PDCA cycle.
Nemawashi
根回し- Say it
- NEH-mah-WAH-shee
- Reading
- ねまわし
- Literally
- Going around the roots: digging around a tree's roots to prepare it before moving it.
- In lean
- Building agreement for a proposal one to one with each person affected before it goes to a formal decision.
Obeya
大部屋- Say it
- OH-beh-yah
- Reading
- おおべや, ōbeya
- Literally
- Big room.
- In lean
- A room where a cross-functional team keeps a project's or a plant's key information on the walls and meets there to decide.
Hansei
反省- Say it
- HAHN-say
- Reading
- はんせい
- Literally
- Reflection, looking back at oneself.
- In lean
- Honest self-reflection after a project or event, success or not: what could have gone better, your own part in it, and what you will change.
Mieruka
見える化- Say it
- MEE-eh-roo-kah
- Reading
- みえるか
- Literally
- Making visible.
- In lean
- Visual management: making the state of work visible at a glance, so anyone can tell normal from abnormal without asking.
Kamishibai
紙芝居- Say it
- KAH-mee-shee-BYE
- Reading
- かみしばい
- Literally
- Paper theater, a traditional form of storytelling with picture cards.
- In lean
- A board of double-sided cards used to schedule and track short audits, showing green when a check passed and red when it found a problem.
People and skills
Words for developing people and the roles that support the line.
Hyojun sagyo
標準作業- Say it
- HYOH-joon SAH-gyoh
- Reading
- ひょうじゅんさぎょう, hyōjun sagyō
- Literally
- Standard work.
- In lean
- The current best known way to do a job, written down with takt time, the work sequence and the standard inventory.
Tanoko
多能工- Say it
- TAH-noh-koh
- Reading
- たのうこう, tanōkō
- Literally
- Multi-skilled worker.
- In lean
- An operator trained on several jobs, the goal of cross-training, so absences and changes in demand do not stop the line.
FAQ
Questions about Japanese lean terms
More lean words, in plain English
The glossary defines 218 lean terms, and the acronyms list says what WCM, OEE, TPM and DOWNTIME stand for.