Translation guide
To twist or bend out of its normal shape, often in a way that looks unnatural or painful. In Japanese, this is expressed with verbs that describe twisting, bending, or distorting, depending on what is being contorted and whether the action is intentional or involuntary.
Describing a person's body or facial expression twisting into an unnatural shape, usually as an involuntary reaction.
Intransitive verb meaning 'to become distorted' or 'to be twisted'. Commonly used for faces or bodies contorting from pain, anger, or sadness.
His face contorted in pain.
Her mouth contorts with anger.
Transitive verb meaning 'to distort' or 'to twist'. Used when someone intentionally contorts their face or body, or when an external force causes distortion.
He contorted his face and cried.
Intransitive verb meaning 'to be twisted' or 'to become bent'. Can describe a body contorting into an unnatural position, but more often used for objects.
A pain that makes your body contort.
Physically twisting or bending something, often with force, so that it loses its original form.
Transitive verb meaning 'to twist' or 'to bend by force'. Used for contorting metal, wire, or other objects.
He contorted the wire into a hook.
Also used for objects, meaning 'to distort' or 'to warp'. Often implies a change from the normal shape, sometimes with a negative nuance.
Transitive verb meaning 'to twist' or 'to wrench'. Often used for twisting something like a rope or cloth, but can also mean contorting one's body intentionally.
Twisting the truth, misrepresenting something, or giving a distorted account.
Suru-verb meaning 'to distort' or 'to twist' facts, statements, or truth. Strongly negative, implying deliberate misrepresentation.
He contorted the facts.
Transitive verb meaning 'to bend' or 'to twist'. In abstract contexts, it can mean 'to distort' or 'to pervert' rules, truth, or principles.
Can also be used metaphorically to mean 'to twist' or 'to distort' facts or logic, but less common than 歪曲する.
歪む (yugamu) is the most common word for faces or shapes becoming distorted, often due to internal emotion or external pressure. ねじ曲がる (nejimagaru) implies a more physical twisting, like a wire bending, and is less common for facial expressions.
English 'contort' often implies a dramatic, unnatural twisting. In Japanese, simply using 曲げる (mageru, 'bend') or よじる (yojiru, 'twist') may be more natural unless the distortion is extreme. Overusing 歪む for voluntary movements can sound odd.
His face contorted in agony.
She contorted her body to fit into the small space.
The journalist contorted the facts to create a sensational story.
熱でプラスチックが歪められた。
The plastic was contorted by the heat.
He contorted his body to squeeze through the narrow hole.
He contorted the truth to suit himself.
He contorted logic to push his argument.