Translation guide
The English verb 'expire' covers several distinct meanings: something coming to an end (like a deadline or contract), a person dying, or breathing out. This guide focuses on the most common meaning for learners: when a document, period, or right reaches its end. It also covers the less common meanings of dying and exhalation.
When a document, period, right, or offer comes to an end after a set time.
My visa expires next month. · The offer expires at midnight. · Your subscription has expired.
The most common and natural way to say something expires in everyday Japanese. Used for deadlines, contracts, visas, subscriptions, etc. Intransitive verb.
My passport is about to expire.
This milk expired yesterday.
Literally 'the deadline expires'. More explicit than just 切れる, often used in formal or written contexts.
This coupon has expired.
Formal term used for the expiration of contracts, terms of office, or legal periods. Often seen in official documents.
The contract period has expired.
Means 'to become invalid' or 'to lapse'. Used for licenses, rights, or legal effects expiring, often due to conditions not being met.
The license has expired.
To die, especially in a formal, literary, or euphemistic sense.
The patient expired during the night. · He expired at the age of 90.
The standard formal word for 'to die'. Used in news reports, official documents, and medical contexts.
The patient expired last night.
A respectful and euphemistic term for dying, often used when referring to someone else's death.
My grandfather passed away last month.
To breathe out air from the lungs.
Inhale, then expire slowly. · The device measures the volume of expired air.
English 'expire' is often translated as 切れる (きれる) in natural Japanese. Using a direct translation like 期限切れになる is grammatically correct but can sound stiff. For everyday items like milk or coupons, 切れる is preferred.
The milk has expired.
切れる (きれる) is the general-purpose word for expiration. 満了する (まんりょうする) is used for fixed-term contracts or tenures ending naturally. 失効する (しっこうする) implies invalidation, often due to a condition not being met (e.g., a license expiring because of non-renewal).
Literally 'to take one's last breath'. A common idiomatic expression for dying, similar to 'expire' in its literal sense.
He expired peacefully.