HOME > WordMaster® > TAKE A RISK／PLAY（IT）SAFE | 危険を冒す、思い切ってやってみる／安全策をとる
2006.07.10(Review of 2003.09.25 edition)
Greetings, and welcome back to the exciting world of business English!
Business, like any good game, is a combination of skill, experience, and luck. Without any one of these, your chances of success are significantly reduced. This week, let's explore some of the expressions used to describe the complex nature of business!
TAKE A RISK / PLAY (IT) SAFE
危険を冒す、思い切ってやってみる／安全策をとる
- To take a risk is to do something that may cause loss, injury, or other negative result.
To play safe or play it safe is to act carefully and avoid taking unnecessary risks. - take a risk とは、損失や損傷など、マイナスの結果を引き起こすかもしれないことをする、つまり、危険を冒す、思い切ってやってみる、という意味です。
play safe あるいは、play it safe は、注意深く行動し、不要な危険を冒さない、つまり、安全策をとる、という意味です。
- I don't feel comfortable taking risks with other people's money.
- (to someone about to travel to a dangerous part of the world)
Be careful and don't take any unnecessary risks. - Many successful entrepreneurs would agree that, in order to achieve anything great, you have to take some risks. You'll get nowhere by always playing it safe.
- When making investment decisions for our retirement, my wife and I prefer to play it safe.
- a: I'm sure the restaurant won't be very crowded tonight - it's a weekday.
b: Maybe, but let's play it safe and make a reservation anyway. - Since we didn't know what the traffic would be like, we left an hour earlier just to play safe.
Best of luck to you today!