Translation guide
A person forced to flee their country due to war, persecution, or disaster. Japanese uses specific terms depending on context and legal status.
To refer to a person who has fled their country for safety, in general or news contexts.
The standard, neutral term for refugee. Used in news, official contexts, and everyday conversation.
The number of Syrian refugees is increasing.
They are living in a refugee camp.
Literally 'evacuee people'. Often used for those displaced within a country or temporarily, but can overlap with 'refugee'. Slightly more formal or bureaucratic.
The flood created many displaced people.
To refer to someone recognized as a refugee under the 1951 Convention or Japanese law.
To refer to someone who has applied for refugee status but not yet been recognized.
Asylum seeker. The standard term in official and NGO contexts.
Asylum seekers may be released on provisional release.
Exile or asylum seeker, often with political connotations. Can imply someone who has fled their country for political reasons and is seeking refuge.
To refer to someone forced to leave their home but not necessarily crossing a border.
To describe someone who has fled a difficult situation, not necessarily war or persecution.
Used as a suffix to mean 'someone displaced from X' or 'X refugee' in a figurative sense, e.g., 買い物難民 (shopping refugee, someone with limited access to stores).
Shopping refugees (people with limited access to stores) are becoming a problem.
難民 is the general term for refugee, especially those crossing borders. 避難民 is broader and can include internally displaced people or evacuees from natural disasters. 亡命者 specifically implies political asylum or defection.
Refugees cross borders, but displaced people often remain within the country.
亡命者 implies a political motivation and often a high-profile defection. Using it for general refugees fleeing war or disaster can sound odd or overly dramatic.
Refugee recognition/status determination. Often used in the phrase 難民認定を受ける (to be granted refugee status).
To apply for refugee status.
政治亡命者が増加している。
The number of political asylum seekers is increasing.
戦闘で多くの避難民が発生した。
The fighting created many displaced people.