Translation guide
A guide to expressing 'haze' in Japanese, covering atmospheric haze, mental confusion, and related expressions.
The mountains are hazy.
My mind is hazy.
Describing reduced visibility due to dust, smoke, or moisture in the air.
General term for haze, mist, or blur. Often used for spring haze or distant views becoming obscured.
The distant mountains look hazy.
Thin mist or haze, often over water or in the morning. Slightly more literary than 霞.
Smoke and fog; smog. Used in technical or weather contexts.
Describing a state of mental fog, confusion, or unclear thinking.
Literally 'head is hazy', meaning to feel spaced out or mentally foggy.
Describing memories that are unclear or vague.
Describing a soft, blurred, or hazy look in images or vision.
霞 (kasumi) is haze, often implying a thin veil that softens distant views. 霧 (kiri) is fog, thicker and closer to the ground. 靄 (moya) is mist or thin haze, often over water or in valleys. In everyday speech, 霞 is the most common for 'haze'.
A hazy landscape
A spring haze is hanging in the air.
A haze is hanging over the lake.
A smog advisory has been issued.
My head feels hazy from lack of sleep.
Consciousness becomes hazy or dim; often used for medical or intoxicated states.
My consciousness is hazy from the fever.
Dazed, dim, hazy state of mind. Often used in compounds like 朦朧状態.
He muttered in a hazy state of consciousness.
My memory of last night is hazy.
Memory is dim or hazy. おぼろげ implies faintness, like a hazy moon.
My childhood memories are hazy.
Soft focus effect in photography, creating a hazy or dreamy look.
Take a portrait with a soft focus (hazy effect).
To be blurred or hazy. Can be used for vision or images.
The photo is hazy/blurry.
濃い霧で前が見えない
I can't see ahead because of thick fog
The loanword ヘイズ (heizu) is sometimes used for 'haze' in technical contexts (e.g., haze pollution), but it is not common. Stick to native words like 霞 or 靄 for natural Japanese.