ウイルスに感染したコンピューターの短い物語

What does “dengen o kiru” mean in Japanese?

When the computer catches a virus, the narrator hurriedly does 電源を切る (dengen o kiru) — “turns off the power.” The surprise is the verb: 切る (kiru) literally means “to cut.” Japanese treats switching electronics off as cutting the power, and switching them on as 入れる (ireru), “to put in.” So you cut the power to shut down, and insert it to boot up.

切る shows up across this “off / disconnect” sense: スイッチを切る (switch something off) and 電話を切る — “hang up the phone,” because you cut the call. (For lights, though, the everyday verb is 消す: 電気を消す.) Its partner 入れる handles the “on” side: スイッチを入れる (“flip the switch on”). One vivid clip detail: it’s 電源, the power itself, that gets cut — a fast, decisive move to stop the virus in its tracks.