Translation guide
The English phrase "wipe out" has several distinct meanings. This guide covers the most common ones for learners: destroying or eliminating something, cleaning or erasing, exhausting someone, and falling or failing dramatically. Each meaning has different natural Japanese expressions.
They wiped out the enemy army.
To cause extinction. Used for wiping out species or completely eradicating something.
The disease wiped out smallpox.
To sweep away or clean out. Often used for wiping out crime, corruption, or undesirable elements.
The police wiped out crime from the city.
To erase or wipe out completely, often used metaphorically for memories or traces.
I want to wipe out that memory.
To remove dirt, marks, or writing by wiping.
To wipe off or wipe away. Used for cleaning surfaces.
I wiped out the dirt on the table.
To erase (writing, data). Can also mean to turn off (lights).
To wipe away completely, often used for stains or figurative things like doubts.
To make someone extremely tired.
To exhaust completely. Often used in passive form (疲れ果てる) to describe being wiped out.
The job wiped him out.
To make someone dog-tired. Casual. Often used as へとへとになる (to become wiped out).
I was wiped out from moving.
To make someone worn out, physically or mentally. Similar to へとへと but can imply limpness.
The long journey wiped me out.
To fall off a surfboard, skateboard, etc., or to fail spectacularly.
Loanword from English 'wipeout', used in surfing/skating contexts. Can be used as a noun or verb (ワイプアウトする).
He wiped out on a big wave.
To fail big time. General term for a spectacular failure, not limited to sports.
I wiped out during the presentation.
To fall over, tumble. More formal or descriptive for falling off a board.
I wiped out on my skateboard.
English 'wipe out' meaning 'exhaust' cannot be translated as 拭き取る or 消す. Use fatigue expressions like 疲れ果てる or へとへとになる.
全滅 (ぜんめつ) means annihilation of a group (e.g., army, team). 絶滅 (ぜつめつ) means extinction of a species or complete eradication. 全滅 is more common for 'wipe out' in military/game contexts.
I wiped out the writing on the whiteboard.
彼の言葉で不安がぬぐい去られた。
His words wiped out my anxiety.