Translation guide
Describes a state of extreme thinness due to starvation, illness, or wasting away. Japanese has several nuanced expressions ranging from clinical to literary.
To describe a person or animal that is dangerously thin, often with visible bones, due to lack of food or severe sickness.
A compound verb meaning 'to become thin and weak', often from illness or hardship. Emphasizes the process of wasting away.
彼は長い闘病生活でやせ衰えた。
He became emaciated from a long battle with illness.
Idiomatic phrase meaning 'to become nothing but skin and bones'. Vivid and commonly used in spoken Japanese.
野良猫は骨と皮ばかりになっていた。
The stray cat was emaciated, just skin and bones.
Describes a gaunt, haggard appearance, often from exhaustion or illness. Can also mean 'to be disheartened'.
彼女は病気でげっそりしていた。
She looked emaciated from illness.
To become haggard or worn out, often from worry or lack of sleep, resulting in a thin, tired appearance.
心労で彼はすっかりやつれてしまった。
He became completely emaciated from anxiety.
Used in medical contexts to describe pathological weight loss and muscle wasting.
Medical term for emaciation or cachexia. Often used in formal or clinical settings.
患者は重度のるい痩が見られた。
The patient showed signs of severe emaciation.
Technical term for cachexia or wasting syndrome, often associated with chronic diseases like cancer.
がんによる消耗症が進行している。
Cancer-related emaciation is progressing.
Used in literature or dramatic descriptions to evoke a stark, skeletal thinness.
Simile meaning 'thin as a skeleton'. Strong visual image, often used in narratives.
彼は骸骨のようにやせていた。
He was emaciated, like a skeleton.
To become very thin and frail. Emphasizes the delicate, weakened state.
やせ細った腕が痛々しい。
Her emaciated arms were pitiful to see.
Direct translations like '衰弱している' (suijaku shite iru) mean 'weak' rather than specifically emaciated. Use words that emphasize thinness.