What Is Shinchoku (Progress)? Its Meaning in Business and How to Use It Correctly

Have you ever been asked "How's the progress?" and been unsure how much to say or what to include? Shinchoku (進捗), the Japanese word for progress, is used almost daily in the workplace, yet it can be surprisingly hard to explain what it actually means. This article explains, for beginners, how to read shinchoku and what it means, how to use it in business with example sentences, how it differs from similar words, and the basics of reporting progress.

What Is Shinchoku? Reading and Meaning

進捗 is read "shinchoku." It means how far something has advanced, in other words, its progress. In business, it refers to how far a task or project has come compared with the plan.

What the Characters Mean

進 means to move forward, and 捗, which can also be read "hakadoru," expresses things moving along smoothly. Together, 進捗 is used as a word for how far something has progressed. In some documents, it is also written partly in hiragana as 進ちょく.

What Shinchoku Refers to in Business

When people say shinchoku at work, they almost always mean not just whether something is moving forward, but how it compares with the plan.

• How much is done: The work completed, or what percentage of the whole has been finished
• Whether it's on schedule: Whether it is on track or behind
• The outlook: The remaining work, and whether it looks likely to be finished by the deadline

When someone asks you to share your progress, answering these three points covers almost everything they want to know.

How to Use Shinchoku, with Example Sentences

In business conversations and emails, shinchoku commonly appears in forms like these.

• Check progress (進捗を確認する): "We'll check each team's progress once a week."
• Report progress (進捗を報告する): "I'd like to report on today's progress."
• Progress is behind (進捗が遅れている): "The design work is two days behind schedule."
• Progress is on track (進捗が順調だ): "Article production is on track, and we expect all 10 articles to be ready this week."
• Share progress (進捗を共有する): "Let's share the progress of each initiative at the regular meeting."

Polite Forms for Superiors and Clients

When asking a manager or client about progress, or reporting it to them, use polite forms.