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Point of interest: dying in Japanese

POI
dying in Japanese
339 words
While dying is not a pleasant topic in any language, unfortunately occasions do arise when we need to refer to it. In Japanese as in English, there are several terms, and the right one depends on the context.
The most literal equivalent to the English verb 'to die' is
し
死
ぬ, and this term would be used when factually reporting a situation with no expression of emotion.
その
いぬ
犬
は
し
死
んでいた
。
The dog was dead.
However, when referring to the death of a loved one (human, or even a beloved pet), in Japanese it is customary to use
な
亡
くなる. 亡くなる is not 'polite' in the Japanese sense of
けいご
敬語
(polite language) - rather, it is a euphemism equivalent to 'pass away' in English.
ちち
父
は2
ねん
年
まえ
前
に
な
亡
くなった
。
My father passed away two years ago.
As is common with honorific expressions in Japanese, it can be made more polite by using the honorific お〜なる form, お
な
亡
くなりになる, or by using the passive,
な
亡
くなられる.
お
とう
父
さん
が
じこ
事故
で
な
亡
くなられた
ことをお
し
知
らせする
よう
い
言
われています
。
I was told to inform you that your father was killed in an accident.
Note that while several kanji can be used for なくなる, 亡 is the correct one in this context.
A similar but even more euphemistic approach is to simply use いない (is not) - the verb いる (to be, to be present, to be alive) is used for living things, so correspondingly its negative form, which usually simply means that someone is not present, can imply that the someone has died. In the following example, both the Japanese and the English are equally ambiguous:
かれ
彼
の
ともだち
友達
の
おお
多
く
はすでにこの
よ
世
にいない。
Most of his friends are no longer with us.
Several other terms exist that are appropriate for different contexts.
たかい
他界
する literally means 'another world', and is very similar to the English expression 'has left this world'.
そふ
祖父
は5
ねん
年
まえ
前
に
たかい
他界
した
。
My grandfather died five years ago.
しぼう
死亡
する is often used in newspapers and formal announcements, and has a somewhat official and impersonal feel.
しぼう
死亡
により
じんこう
人口
は
げんしょう
減少
し
つつある。
The population is dying off.
せいきょ
逝去
する is an honorific form, so it would be appropriate in any official or formal context.
ご
そんぷ
尊父
のご
せいきょ
逝去
に
たい
対
し
、
つつし
謹
んで
あいとう
哀悼
の
い
意
を
あらわ
表
します
。
Please accept my condolences on the death of your father.
A discussion of the word 'dying' wouldn't be complete without a reference to the English idiom, 'dying to ~', meaning 'absolutely desperate to ~'. There are a couple of Japanese idioms which convey a similar sense: て form + たまらない and て form + 仕方がない.
パリに
い
行
きたくて
たまりません。
I'm dying to see Paris.
コーヒーが
の
飲
みたくて
しかた
仕方
がない。
I'm dying for a cup of coffee.

Kanji used in this point of interest

死
シ   death   しぬ die   
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亡
ボウ   モウ   dead   ない to be deceased, to have ceased to be   
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敬
ケイ   うやまう to respect, revere   
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語
ゴ   かたる to talk, relate   かたらう to talk together, chat   
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他
タ   ほか other   
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界
カイ    world   
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逝
セイ   いく    ゆく to die, pass away   
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去
キョ   コ   さる leave   
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仕
シ   ジ   つかえる to attend to   
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方
ホウ   かた way, direction   
犬
ケン   いぬ dog   
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父
フ   ちち father   
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年
ネン   とし year   
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前
ゼン   まえ before   
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事
ジ   ズ   こと thing; matter   
故
コ   strike   ゆえ reason; deceased   
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知
チ   しる to know   
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言
ゲン   ゴン   say; word   こと word, saying   いう to say   
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彼
ヒ   かれ he   
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友
ユウ   とも friend   
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達
タツ    arrive   
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多
タ   おおい many   
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世
セ   セイ   よ the world   
祖
ソ    ancestor   
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人
ジン   ニン   ひと person   
口
コウ   ク   くち mouth   
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減
ゲン   へる become less   へらす reduce   
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少
ショウ   すこし a little   すくない few   
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尊
ソン   たっとい    とうとい precious, dear, exalted   たっとぶ    とうとぶ to set a high value on, to esteem highly   
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対
タイ   ツイ    vis-a-vis   
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謹
キン   discreet   つつしむ to be discreet, careful   
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哀
アイ   あわれ piteous, sorrowful   あわれむ to feel pity   
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悼
トウ   いたむ to grieve over, lament   
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意
イ    idea   
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表
ヒョウ   おもて surface, front   あらわす to show, to represent   あらわれる to be present, to appear   
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行
コウ   ギョウ   アン   ゆく    いく to go   おこなう to take place   
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飲
イン   のむ to drink   
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