Translation guide
The English word 'surrender' covers giving up in a conflict, yielding to an emotion, or handing something over. Japanese uses different words depending on what is being surrendered and the context.
Literally 'throw down one's hands'. Used for giving up in a fight, game, or argument. Less formal than 降伏.
もう降参だ。君の勝ちだ。
I surrender. You win.
Literally 'raise a white flag'. A vivid, somewhat literary expression for surrender.
彼らはついに白旗を揚げた。
They finally raised the white flag.
To stop resisting a feeling, temptation, or desire.
Literally 'entrust one's body to ~'. A natural way to say you surrender to a feeling or flow.
悲しみに身を任せて泣いた。
I surrendered to my sadness and cried.
Literally 'lose to ~'. Common for giving in to temptation or weakness.
誘惑に負けてケーキを食べてしまった。
I surrendered to temptation and ate the cake.
Literally 'bow to desire'. A more formal or literary way to say surrender to desire.
彼は欲望に屈した。
He surrendered to his desires.
To give up possession or control of something, often formally or under pressure.
To hand over a person, object, or territory to another party, often officially.
容疑者を警察に引き渡した。
They surrendered the suspect to the police.
To vacate and hand over a place or position. Used for surrendering territory, a seat, etc.
To yield or concede something to someone else, often voluntarily or in a compromise.
To stop trying to do something because it is too difficult or pointless.
In many everyday situations, Japanese uses more specific verbs like 諦める (give up) or 負ける (lose to) instead of a direct equivalent of 'surrender'. Using 降伏する for non-military contexts sounds overly dramatic.
彼らは城を明け渡した。
They surrendered the castle.
He surrendered his rights.
I decided to surrender the plan.