Translation guide
How to express narrowly avoiding death in Japanese, from literal survival to figurative close calls.
The speaker physically survived a life-threatening situation.
A direct and formal way to say 'escape death'. Suitable for serious contexts like accidents or illnesses.
He escaped death in a traffic accident.
Literally 'to keep one's life'. Emphasizes surviving against the odds, often used in news or formal narratives.
Miraculously, he escaped death.
An idiomatic expression meaning 'to have a narrow escape from death'. Literally 'to gain one life from nine deaths'. Used in dramatic or literary contexts.
I felt like I had escaped death by a hair's breadth.
The speaker narrowly avoided a disaster or extremely dangerous situation, often used casually.
Literally 'to pick up one's life'. A common, slightly casual way to say you had a close brush with death. Can be used for both literal and figurative escapes.
I really escaped death that time.
Means 'to almost die'. Very direct and casual. Often used when recounting a dangerous experience.
A very common, casual phrase meaning 'That was close!' or 'I was almost in danger'. Implies a narrow escape from something bad, including death.
The speaker survived in a way that seems to defy fate, often with a nuance of trickery or luck.
Also used for 'cheating death' in a more formal or literary sense. Can imply a deliberate or fortunate avoidance.
He has cheated death many times.
Literally 'to outwit death'. A more colorful, literary expression for cheating death. Rare in everyday speech.
It's as if he cheated death.
死を免れる is more formal and often used in writing or serious reports. 命拾いをする is conversational and can sound a bit lighter, suitable for personal anecdotes.
The newspaper reported that he escaped death.
I really escaped death yesterday.
Directly translating 'escape' and 'death' as 死から逃げる is unnatural. Use the set phrases provided instead.
escape death (unnatural)
He narrowly escaped death in the accident.
I escaped death by a hair's breadth.
I almost drowned and escaped death.
I was almost hit by a car—I escaped death.