Components

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
ぬ, and this term would be used when factually reporting a situation with no expression of emotion.
その
いぬ
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
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
ねん
まえ
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
くなりになる, or by using the passive,
くなられる.
とう
さん
じこ
事故
くなられた
こと
らせする
よう
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
ともだち
友達
おお
すでにこの
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
ねん
まえ
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
げんしょう
減少
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.
そんぷ
尊父
せいきょ
逝去
たい
つつし
んで
あいとう
哀悼
あらわ
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
きたくて
たまりません
I'm dying to see Paris.
コーヒー
みたくて
しかた
仕方
ない
I'm dying for a cup of coffee.

Kanji used in this point of interest

シ   death   し die   
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ボウ   モウ   dead   な to be deceased, to have ceased to be   
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ケイ   うやま to respect, revere   
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ゴ   かた to talk, relate   かたらう to talk together, chat   
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タ   ほか other   
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カイ    world   
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セイ   い    ゆ to die, pass away   
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キョ   コ   さ leave   
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シ   ジ   つかえる to attend to   
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ホウ   かた way, direction   
ケン   いぬ dog   
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フ   ちち father   
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ネン   とし year   
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ゼン   まえ before   
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ジ   ズ   こと thing; matter   
コ   strike   ゆえ reason; deceased   
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チ   し to know   
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ゲン   ゴン   say; word   こと word, saying   い to say   
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ヒ   かれ he   
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ユウ   とも friend   
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タツ    arrive   
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タ   おお many   
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セ   セイ   よ the world   
ソ    ancestor   
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ジン   ニン   ひと person   
コウ   ク   くち mouth   
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ゲン   へ become less   へらす reduce   
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ショウ   すこ a little   すくない few   
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ソン   たっと    とうと precious, dear, exalted   たっと    とうと to set a high value on, to esteem highly   
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タイ   ツイ    vis-a-vis   
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キン   discreet   つつし to be discreet, careful   
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アイ   あわ piteous, sorrowful   あわれむ to feel pity   
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トウ   いた to grieve over, lament   
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イ    idea   
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ヒョウ   おもて surface, front   あらわ to show, to represent   あらわれる to be present, to appear   
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コウ   ギョウ   アン   ゆ    い to go   おこな to take place   
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イン   の to drink   
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