ショベル
Japanese
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/57/Shovels.jpg/250px-Shovels.jpg)
Etymology
Borrowed from English shovel.[1][2]
Pronunciation
Noun
- a shovel, especially a larger one
- an excavator (as a piece of construction equipment)
Synonyms
Usage notes
The term シャベル (shaberu) appears to be the most general term for a shovel used by hand.
The Japanese Industrial Standards define a distinction between ショベル (shoberu) (notably not シャベル (shaberu)) and スコップ (sukoppu), stating that a hand ショベル (shoberu) has a footrest on the back of the blade of the shovel where the user can place their foot for greater leverage, while a スコップ (sukoppu) has no such footrest.
A large shovel as part of construction equipment appears to be more commonly called a ショベル (shoberu).