Native Japanese word for フリー


I wonder why all the translation engines show only the word フリー as a
translation for the word "free". Why Japanese people had to borrow an english
word? Wasn't there anything for free in Japanese history? Does the native
Japanese word for "free" exist?




It's because English "free" has two major meanings which are totally
different, and no native Japanese word covers both of the two meanings of
"free".

  * Free as in "free WiFi", no charge = **無料**
  * Free as in "free speech", liberty = **自由**

If you type only "free" to, for example, Google Translate, it can't guess the
intended meaning, so it ends up with フリー, which is at least understandable to
most Japanese speakers. If you provide a few more words to the program, it can
give a better translation. Here are some results I got:

  * `free` → フリー
  * `free WiFi` → **無料** のWiFi
  * `free call` → **無料** 通話
  * `free speech` → 言論の **自由**
  * `free will` → **自由** 意思




It's because English "free" has two major meanings which are totally
different, and no native Japanese word covers both of the two meanings of
"free".

  * Free as in "free WiFi", no charge = **無料**
  * Free as in "free speech", liberty = **自由**

If you type only "free" to, for example, Google Translate, it can't guess the
intended meaning, so it ends up with フリー, which is at least understandable to
most Japanese speakers. If you provide a few more words to the program, it can
give a better translation. Here are some results I got:

  * `free` → フリー
  * `free WiFi` → **無料** のWiFi
  * `free call` → **無料** 通話
  * `free speech` → 言論の **自由**
  * `free will` → **自由** 意思

