Translation guide
The process of breaking down food in the body, and related metaphorical uses.
The physical process of breaking down food in the digestive system.
The standard term for digestion, both as a biological process and metaphorically.
Please tell me foods that are good for digestion.
The stomach plays a role in digestion.
The verb 'to digest'. Used for both food and abstract concepts.
This medicine helps digest food.
Digestive organs; a more technical term.
I'm learning about the function of the digestive organs.
The act of mentally absorbing or understanding information.
Metaphorically digesting information, ideas, or experiences. Very common.
It takes time to digest new information.
His story was difficult, and I haven't digested it yet.
To understand or comprehend. A more direct alternative when 'digest' means 'grasp mentally'.
Literally 'to swallow', but can mean to accept or digest an idea, often with a nuance of reluctantly accepting.
Breaking down substances by chemical or biological means, as in waste treatment.
Used in technical contexts like anaerobic digestion.
Anaerobic digestion produces biogas.
消化 implies a gradual process of breaking down and absorbing, while 理解 is a more general 'understand'. Use 消化 when emphasizing the time and effort needed to fully internalize something.
It took a week to digest the contents of this book.
It's easy to understand the contents of this book.
English 'digest' can mean a summary or compilation (e.g., 'Reader's Digest'). In Japanese, use ダイジェスト (daijesuto) or 要約 (ようやく) for that meaning, not 消化.
I read a digest of this article.
I need time to fully digest (understand) that concept.
その事実を飲み込むのに苦労した。
I struggled to digest (swallow) that fact.