noun
General term for death; used in formal, medical, and everyday contexts.
彼の死は突然だった。
His death was sudden.
死と向き合うことは難しい。
Facing death is difficult.
noun
Baseball term for an out; used in game commentary and rules.
ツーアウトで、あと一つ死を取ればチェンジだ。
With two outs, one more out and the inning is over.
noun
death penalty (ritsuryō system)
Historical term for the most severe punishment under the ritsuryō codes, typically by strangulation or decapitation.
See also: 五刑
律令制では、五刑のうち最も重い刑が死であった。
Under the ritsuryō system, the most severe of the five punishments was death.
More formal and often used in official reports or statistics; 死 is a broader, more general term.
Polite term for passing away, often used in obituaries; 死 is neutral and can be blunt.
The kanji 死 is a pictograph of a person kneeling beside skeletal remains, representing death. The reading し is the native Japanese term for death, of ancient origin.