Translation guide
This entry covers ways to express that someone or something becomes extremely thin, often due to illness, starvation, or neglect. It focuses on natural Japanese expressions for describing a state of severe weight loss or wasting away.
Describe a person or animal that has lost so much weight they look skeletal, typically due to disease, famine, or lack of food.
Intransitive verb meaning to become haggard or emaciated, often from illness, worry, or hardship. Focuses on the visible result of wasting away.
Describe a gradual, pitiful decline in physical condition, often used for abandoned animals, prisoners, or people in extreme poverty.
痩せる (やせる) simply means 'to lose weight' or 'become thin,' which can be positive or neutral. やつれる specifically implies an unhealthy, haggard emaciation, often from suffering.
ダイエットで痩せた。
I lost weight through dieting.
病気でやつれた。
I became emaciated from illness.
He became completely emaciated after a long illness.
Compound verb meaning to become thin and weak; emphasizes both weight loss and loss of strength.
栄養失調で患者は痩せ衰えていた。
The patient had become emaciated due to malnutrition.
Suru verb describing a sudden, noticeable loss of weight, often with a gaunt or exhausted look. Common in casual speech.
彼女は病気でげっそりしてしまった。
She became emaciated from illness.
Idiomatic phrase meaning 'to become nothing but skin and bones.' Vivid and somewhat dramatic.
野良犬は骨と皮ばかりになっていた。
The stray dog had become emaciated, just skin and bones.
Intransitive verb meaning to become very thin and frail. Often implies a slow, pitiful process.
捨てられた子猫はやせ細っていた。
The abandoned kitten had become emaciated.
General verb for declining in health or strength; can imply emaciation when combined with context about weight loss.
彼は長い牢獄生活で衰えてしまった。
He became emaciated during his long imprisonment.