文字起こし

Japanese Slang Japanese ★★★★ 4/5 neutral もじおこしmoji okoshi

読み もじおこし

ローマ字 moji okoshi

漢字の分解 文 (writing/text) + 字 (character) = 文字 (written character/text); 起 (rise/start) + こし (nominalised form of 起こす, to produce) = 起こし (producing/raising up)

発音 /mo.dʑi o.ko.ɕi/

意味

Transcription — converting spoken audio or video content into written text, now largely done by AI tools.

文字起こし (literally 'raising up characters') has long been a professional task in Japan, handled by specialist transcription services for broadcasting, legal proceedings, and academic research. The rise of AI transcription tools — especially Whisper-based apps and services like Notta, AutoMemo, and Google's live caption — democratised 文字起こし dramatically. By the mid-2020s, asking an AI to 文字起こし a meeting recording or YouTube video had become a routine action for office workers, students, and content creators.

例文

会議の録音をAIで文字起こしして議事録作った。
このインタビュー動画、文字起こしするのめちゃ時間かかる。
文字起こしツール使ったら作業が一気に楽になった。

使い方ガイド

場面: work, education, content creation, AI tools

トーン: practical, task-oriented

正しい言い方

講義の動画を文字起こしして勉強に使ってる。 (I transcribe lecture videos and use them for studying.)
AIで文字起こしすれば議事録作成が10分で終わる。 (If you use AI for transcription, meeting minutes take only 10 minutes.)

避ける言い方

「翻訳」と「文字起こし」を混同する (Confusing 翻訳 with 文字起こし — 翻訳 is translation between languages, while 文字起こし is transcription within the same language)

よくある間違い

Writing 文字興し instead of 文字起こし — the correct kanji for okoshi here is 起こし, not 興し (which means to revive or promote)
Assuming 文字起こし always means perfect verbatim transcription — AI tools often produce summaries or edited versions instead

起源と歴史

文字 (characters/text) + 起こし (the noun form of 起こす, 'to raise up/produce'). The term has been in use since at least the postwar broadcasting era. Its current popularity spike is driven by AI tools making transcription accessible to non-professionals from around 2022.

文化的背景

時代: Long-established term; usage surge from 2022 with AI tools

世代: All ages, especially office workers and students

社会的背景: Universal

地域メモ: Used nationwide. AI-powered 文字起こし services are particularly popular among Japanese remote workers and university students.