Translation guide
The act of leaving school, a course, or an activity before completion. In Japanese, the most common and natural expression is 退学する (taigaku suru) for formal withdrawal from school, while 中退する (chuutai suru) is used for dropping out partway through. For quitting clubs or activities, やめる (yameru) is standard.
He dropped out of high school.
Submit a withdrawal notice.
Specifically means dropping out partway through a course or program. Very common for university dropouts.
He dropped out of university and started a business.
She dropped out of vocational school.
Casual and common way to say 'quit school'. Can imply dropping out, but also just leaving a particular school.
I dropped out of high school and started working.
Loanword from English, used in casual or trendy contexts, often for dropping out of society or a system, not just school.
He dropped out of society.
To express that someone stops participating in a non-school activity, such as a club, class, or program.
General verb for quitting something. Use with the object marked by を.
I dropped out of the club.
I decided to drop out of my lessons.
Emphasizes quitting midway. Useful when you want to stress that you didn't finish.
Loanword meaning 'retire', but can be used for dropping out of a competition or long-term project.
I dropped out of the marathon halfway.
To express that someone disengages from mainstream society, often voluntarily.
退学 (taigaku) is a formal term for leaving school, which can be voluntary or forced (expulsion). 中退 (chuutai) specifically means dropping out before completion, and is the most common word for university dropouts. Use 中退 when you want to emphasize that the person left partway through.
The English phrase 'drop out' cannot be directly translated word-for-word. Avoid expressions like 落ちる (ochiru) or 出る (deru) for this meaning, as they sound unnatural.
I ended up dropping out of the course halfway.