Translation guide
The concept of drowning in Japanese is expressed through specific verbs and nouns that distinguish between dying by drowning, nearly drowning, and the state of being submerged. The most common and direct equivalent is 溺れる (oboreru), but other terms are used for formal, technical, or literary contexts.
Expressing the act of dying from being unable to breathe underwater.
The most common verb meaning 'to drown' (die by drowning). It is an intransitive verb. Can also be used figuratively to mean 'to indulge in' something.
He drowned in the sea.
A drowning man will clutch at a straw.
A formal or technical term meaning 'to die by drowning', often used in news reports or official documents. Literally 'water death'.
Two people drowned in the accident.
A medical or formal term for 'death by drowning'. Less common in everyday speech.
The cause of death was drowning.
Describing the ongoing action of struggling in water and being unable to breathe.
Referring to an incident where someone almost drowned but survived.
A noun meaning 'drowning' or 'near-drowning', often used in medical or safety contexts. Can refer to both fatal and non-fatal submersion.
Please be careful of drowning accidents.
A more colloquial way to say 'almost drowned'. Literally 'became likely to drown'.
I almost drowned in the pool.
Referring to drowning as a general concept, cause of death, or phenomenon.
The noun for 'death by drowning'. Used in formal and medical contexts.
Drowning is preventable.
A broader term meaning 'water accident' or 'distress at sea', which often implies drowning. Used in compound words like 水難事故 (water accident).
To cover or overwhelm a sound with a louder one.
Means 'to drown out' or 'to muffle' a sound. Literally 'scratch out'.
His voice was drowned out by the noise.
A more general phrase meaning 'to become inaudible', often used when a sound is drowned out. Not specific to drowning out, but natural in context.
To drink alcohol to forget one's problems.
Literally 'to drown in alcohol', this is the closest idiomatic equivalent. It implies excessive drinking to escape reality.
He tried to drown his sorrows in alcohol after the breakup.
Means 'to drink in desperation' or 'to drown one's sorrows'. やけ means despair or desperation, and 酒 is alcohol.
I drowned my sorrows yesterday.
沈む (しずむ) means 'to sink' (intransitive) and does not imply death by drowning. A person can 沈む without drowning, and a drowning person may not necessarily sink. Use 溺れる for drowning.
溺れる is the everyday verb for drowning. 水死する and 溺死する are formal terms used in news or medical reports. 水死 is more common in news headlines, while 溺死 is more clinical.
水難事故が増えている。
Water accidents (drownings) are increasing.
The music was so loud that his voice was drowned out.