Translation guide
This entry covers how to express the concept of becoming sick or falling ill in Japanese, from casual to formal contexts.
To say someone becomes sick or falls ill in a general sense.
The most common and neutral way to say 'to fall ill' or 'to get sick'. Used for both physical and mental illness.
He recently fell ill.
I tend to get sick from stress.
More formal, often used in medical or written contexts. Means 'to develop an illness' or 'to become symptomatic'.
He fell ill last month.
Very formal, used in official reports or medical documents. Means 'to contract a disease'.
I contracted influenza.
To emphasize the suddenness of falling ill, like coming down with something.
To say you caught a specific disease, like a cold or flu.
Pattern for catching a specific illness. Replace [病気] with the disease name.
I caught a cold.
I caught the flu.
More casual pattern, often used for colds. '風邪をひく' is a set phrase.
I caught a cold.
To express falling ill to the point of being confined to bed.
Use 病気になる for general illness or when the specific disease is unknown. Use 風邪をひく specifically for catching a cold. 病気になる can sound more serious than 風邪をひく.
I've been sick since yesterday and have a fever.
I think I caught a cold.
Do not translate 'fall' literally as 落ちる (おちる) when talking about illness. 'Fall ill' is an idiom; use 病気になる or similar expressions.
彼は仕事中に倒れた。
He fell ill at work.
He has been ill in bed for a long time.