Translation guide
The act of falling into a light sleep unintentionally, often briefly. In Japanese, this is commonly expressed with specific verbs and onomatopoeia.
I dozed off.
Casual, common way to say you unintentionally fell asleep.
To describe the action of dozing off, such as during a meeting or while sitting.
The most common and neutral way to say 'doze off', literally 'sleep while present'. Used for unintentional napping in a place where one should be awake.
居眠り (inemuri) is dozing off unintentionally in a place you shouldn't sleep, like a meeting. うたた寝 (utatane) is also unintentional but often at home on a sofa. 昼寝 (hirune) is an intentional nap, usually during the day.
I dozed off during the meeting.
Implies dozing off unintentionally, often while sitting or reclining. Slightly more literary than 居眠りする.
I dozed off on the sofa.
An onomatopoeic phrase describing the state of nodding off or being half-asleep. Often used for the moment of drifting off.
I dozed off because of the heater.
Onomatopoeia for the head-nodding motion when fighting sleep. Often used adverbially.
I was nodding off during class.
Idiomatic expression literally meaning 'to row a boat', describing the forward-and-back head motion of someone dozing off while sitting.
I saw someone nodding off on the train.