Today at my company, I was involved in something, and I was unsure if the
action we were about to do was safe. Normally in English, I would say
something along the lines of "Hey, is this safe to do?". I, however, did not
know how to say that in Japanese.

Obviously there come different situations where "is this safe?" could be used
that mean slightly different things:

> Action: [Picking up a heavy fridge by oneself] "Is this safe [to do]?"
>
> Object: [Pointing at a sketchy looking rope bridge] "Is this safe [to use]?"

When looking in the dictionary I came across 安全｛あんぜん｝, 硬い｛かたい｝, and
大丈夫｛だいじょうぶ｝ as options that could possibly work.

Then there is also the option that there is another set phrase that is
typically used in this situation to get across the message of "I think there
is a possibility this is may cause you/me/us harm, what do you think?" that is
unrelated to a word that means "safe" in the dictionary.

* * *

I think 安全的 would probably be the form of 安全 that would appear, something
like:

> このことが **安全的** だか？

But to me I've usually seen 安全 to mean safe as "in accordance with safety
regulations" as opposed to generally unharmful.

* * *

I think 硬い could be used in the _Object_ scenario I give since it has a
meaning of strong, stiff, sturdy, tough. But I do not think that would apply
in the _Action_ case I give.

* * *

And as for 大丈夫, of course that could work to ask if the general case is
alright. However, I do not think it conveys the same sense that the speaker
thinks the reason why it could possibly _not_ be alright is because it is
unsafe.

* * *

**Specific Question:**

  1. Is there are phrase/word that is **commonly** used in Japanese, where one would typically say "Is this safe?" when speaking English?

  2. If yes, is it the same phrase fr both scenarios I laid out above?

  3. Finally, do(es) the phrase(s) specifically convey that the action/object could lead to physical harm, or is that implied based on the context?
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-27T08:39:45.400
69128
2019-06-29T15:17:16.133
2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
-1
34051
question
word-choice set-phrases
"Safe" as an adjective?
"Safe" as an adjective is 安全だ, which is a na-adjective. "Is this safe to do?"
is usually translated as "～しても大丈夫ですか?', "～しても安全ですか?" is less common. We rarely
say 安全的, and 硬い as the meaning of a word "safe".
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-27T16:45:32.890
69135
2019-06-27T16:45:32.890
7320
69128
answer
If you emphasize the "commonly" I think やばい would be good, when slightly
colloquially referring to "unsafe". (I.e. meaning is opposite of safe)
However, it is also used when referring to something illegal and/or morally
wrong. Especially as a foreigner it may be better to be clear and, when
thinking something is risky, not ask "is this safe?" but rather "are you sure
this isn't dangerous?"

Ergonomics is not yet a very big hit in Japan (but getting more attention), so
it would not work with the fridge, though, but would be OK for many other
potentially dangerous working proceducers, and would also be OK with the rope
bridge.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-28T15:06:06.210
69156
2019-06-28T15:06:06.210
34261
69128
answer