Translation guide
The English phrase "come out" has many different meanings. This guide breaks them down into practical uses and shows how to express each naturally in Japanese.
To physically leave a room, building, vehicle, or other enclosed area.
The most common and general verb for exiting or emerging. Use with particle を for the place left, or から for 'from'.
部屋を出る
come out of the room
come out of the house
Emphasizes movement toward the speaker or the speaker's viewpoint. Often used when someone comes out to where you are.
He came out of the room.
Emphasizes movement away from the speaker. Often used when someone leaves a place and goes away.
She came out quickly (and left).
When something that was hidden or not present becomes visible or appears.
General verb for appearing, emerging, or showing up. Can be used for people, objects, or abstract things.
The moon came out from behind the clouds.
Also used for appearing, especially for natural phenomena like the sun, moon, or stars, or for things like rashes.
When a book, movie, album, product, or software becomes available to the public.
Standard term for commercial release or going on sale. Passive form of 発売する.
The new iPhone came out.
Casual and common way to say something is released, especially for books, magazines, movies, or games.
Used for movies, events, or information being made public or released.
The new movie came out (was released in theaters).
To disclose that one is gay, lesbian, bisexual, etc.
Loanword from English 'coming out'. The standard term in Japanese.
He came out to his family.
More formal or descriptive phrase meaning 'to publicly announce that one is gay'.
He came out as gay.
To have a particular result or end in a certain state.
General pattern for 'to become' or 'to turn out'. Use with an adjective or noun.
Everything came out well.
The photo came out nicely.
More explicit pattern meaning 'to result in ~'.
The exam came out as a pass.
When a stain, mark, or something unwanted is removed or vanishes.
When flowers open or leaves appear.
When words or sounds are spoken, sometimes unexpectedly.
Common for words or voice coming out, often with nuance of involuntarily or naturally.
I was so surprised I couldn't speak (my voice wouldn't come out).
My true feelings just came out.
To utter or mention something, often used for saying something significant.
While 出る is the most common translation for 'come out', it doesn't cover all meanings. For blooming flowers use 咲く, for stains use 落ちる, and for results use patterns like 〜になる.
出る is neutral. 出てくる emphasizes movement toward the speaker (come out here). 出ていく emphasizes movement away (go out/leave). Choose based on direction relative to the speaker.
Suddenly, he came out (appeared).
The sun came out.
Pimples came out on my face.
His new book came out.
That movie comes out next month.
The button came out (off).
New buds came out on the tree.
彼はついにその言葉を口にした。
He finally came out with those words.