Translation guide
How to express 'look away' in Japanese, covering physical gaze aversion, ignoring something, and metaphorical turning away.
彼は目をそらした。
He looked away.
The speaker physically turns their eyes or face away from something or someone.
The most common and natural way to say 'look away' or 'avert one's eyes'. Used for both deliberate and reflexive actions.
彼は恥ずかしそうに目をそらした。
He looked away shyly.
I couldn't look away from the photo.
Literally 'remove one's gaze'. Slightly more formal or descriptive than 目をそらす. Often used when someone intentionally breaks eye contact.
彼女は私から視線を外した。
She looked away from me.
To turn one's face away, often with a nuance of rejection, disgust, or strong avoidance. More physical than just eyes.
彼は私に顔を背けた。
He turned his face away from me.
To look away to somewhere else, often distractedly. Implies looking at something else rather than just averting gaze. Common in warnings like 'don't look away while driving'.
運転中によそ見をしてはいけない。
Don't look away while driving.
Deliberately avoid looking at something to ignore it, often out of discomfort, politeness, or denial.
To pretend not to see something; to look away deliberately to avoid involvement. Very common for ignoring something unpleasant or awkward.
彼は困っている人を見て見ぬふりをした。
He looked away from the person in trouble.
To avert one's eyes from something unpleasant or reality. Stronger nuance of refusing to face something.
現実から目を背けてはいけない。
You mustn't look away from reality.
To avoid dealing with something, to neglect or abandon a responsibility or difficult situation.
Same as above, but used metaphorically. Very common in phrases like 'look away from reality/problems'.
問題から目を背けるな。
Don't look away from the problem.
To abandon, give up on, or turn one's back on someone/something. Stronger than just looking away; implies cutting ties.
目をそらす is the default for physically looking away (often neutral or due to shyness). 目を背ける implies a stronger aversion, disgust, or refusal to face something, and is common in metaphorical uses (e.g., 現実から目を背ける).
Do not translate 'look away' literally as 離れて見る or similar. These are not natural Japanese for this concept.
神様に見放された気分だ。
I feel like God has turned away from me.