Translation guide
Describes the state of being so sleepy that you involuntarily start to fall asleep, often while sitting or during an activity. Japanese has several vivid expressions for this, ranging from onomatopoeia to descriptive verbs.
To describe the act of falling asleep unintentionally, especially when you are trying to stay awake.
The most common and neutral way to say 'nod off' or 'doze off,' especially while sitting. Literally 'being present and sleeping.'
I nodded off during the meeting.
I like nodding off on the train.
An onomatopoeic phrase describing the state of drowsily drifting in and out of sleep, often with head bobbing. Very natural for 'nodding off.'
I nodded off in the warm room.
I fought off nodding off during class.
Literally 'to row a boat,' this idiom vividly describes the head-bobbing motion of someone fighting sleep. Often used in a slightly humorous or self-deprecating way.
During the lecture, the person in front of me was nodding off.
Another onomatopoeic verb mimicking the sudden head drop when nodding off. Casual and descriptive.
I nodded off while driving and it was dangerous.
A more literary or poetic word for dozing or slumbering lightly. Not typically used for accidental nodding off in daily conversation.
He was quietly dozing on the sofa.
居眠り (inemuri) often implies actually falling asleep for a short period, while うとうと (utouto) focuses on the drowsy, semi-conscious state of struggling to stay awake. 居眠り can be used even if you fully fell asleep sitting up; うとうと is more about the process of nodding off.
In Japan, 'inemuri' (napping in public or at work) is sometimes socially tolerated as a sign of hard work and exhaustion, though it's still not considered ideal. The phrase 居眠り carries this cultural nuance.