Translation guide
How to express 'leak out' in Japanese, covering physical leaks of liquids/gas, information leaks, and figurative uses.
Describing a physical leak where a substance escapes from a container or enclosed space.
Intransitive verb meaning 'to leak' or 'to escape'. Used when the subject is the substance that leaks out.
Water is leaking out from the water pipe.
Gas is leaking out, so please open the windows.
Transitive verb meaning 'to let leak' or 'to allow to escape'. Used when someone or something causes the leak.
He carelessly let the secret leak out.
More formal term for 'leak out' or 'spill out', often used for large-scale leaks like oil spills or chemical leaks.
Chemical substances leaked out from the factory.
Technical term for leakage, often used in medical or scientific contexts.
Blood is leaking out from the blood vessel.
Describing secrets, news, or data being disclosed without authorization.
Intransitive verb used for information leaking out, often unintentionally.
It seems the exam questions leaked out.
Personal information leaked out to the outside.
Formal term for information leakage, often used in news or business contexts.
A leak of customer data was discovered.
Also used for information leaks, especially when large amounts of data are involved.
Confidential documents leaked out onto the internet.
Transitive verb for letting information leak, often used when someone is responsible.
Describing something intangible like light, sound, or smell coming out from an enclosed space.
Describing when someone's true feelings become apparent despite trying to hide them.
漏れる (intransitive) is used when the focus is on the thing that leaks. 漏らす (transitive) is used when someone or something causes the leak. For information leaks, 漏れる is more common unless you want to emphasize the actor.
The information leaked out.
He leaked the information.
While 漏れる can be used metaphorically, some English uses of 'leak out' (e.g., 'the truth leaked out') may be better expressed with other verbs like 明らかになる (to become clear) or 知れ渡る (to become widely known) depending on the nuance.
誰が情報を漏らしたのか分からない。
I don't know who leaked the information.
Anger was leaking out from his expression.