Translation guide
The decaying flesh of dead animals. In Japanese, this concept is expressed through specific nouns and descriptive phrases, with different terms used in biological, literary, or everyday contexts.
The general concept of rotting animal flesh, often as food for scavengers.
Literally 'dead meat'. A straightforward term for carrion, used in both everyday and biological contexts.
Vultures eat carrion.
Literally 'rotten meat'. Emphasizes the decayed state, often used in scientific or descriptive writing.
The smell of carrion hung in the air.
Literally 'corpse meat'. A more literary or dramatic term, sometimes used in poetry or older texts.
Beasts scavenging for carrion.
Used metaphorically to describe something morally repulsive or decayed.
A simile meaning 'like rotten meat', used figuratively to describe something corrupt or disgusting.
That organization is like carrion.
死肉 is the most general and neutral term for dead animal flesh. 腐肉 specifically highlights the rotting aspect and is common in scientific contexts. 屍肉 is more literary and evokes a sense of a corpse, often used in dramatic or poetic descriptions.