死去|しきょshikyo[1]atamadaka (head-high)

1. noun, suru verb, intransitive verbdeath; decease; passing away
   ノーベル賞のーべるしょう受賞者じゅしょうしゃ湯川ゆかわ博士はかせは１９８１年ねんに死去しきょした。↗

   Dr. Yukawa, the Nobel prize winner, died in 1981.

• Synonym死亡しぼうNeutralMore objective, suited to statistics and accident reports, as in 「死亡者数」 and 「死亡率」; 「死去」 reports the death of a specific person.
• Synonym逝去せいきょWrittenA respectful written word for the death of someone held in esteem, common in obituaries and formal speeches; 「死去」 states the fact plainly, with no honorific tone.
• Synonym物故ぶっこWrittenA euphemistic Sino-Japanese word for a person's death, seen in rosters and old-style documents, as in 「物故者」; rare in daily speech, where 「死去」 or 「亡くなる」 is normal.
• Synonym他界たかいWrittenOriginally means the other world; a euphemism for dying, often used of public figures, relatives and friends. 「死去」 is plainer and more report-like.
• Synonym死ぬしぬNeutralThe most basic verb, also used of animals, plants and figuratively; blunt when said of a person, so obituaries and reports switch to 「死去」 or 「亡くなる」.
• Synonym亡くなるなくなるNeutralThe polite euphemism for 「死ぬ」 and the usual way to mention someone's death in daily conversation; 「死去」 is a Sino-Japanese noun found mainly in report-style writing.
• Synonym死しNeutralA noun for the end of life in general — covers animals, metaphorical extinction and the abstract concept; 「死去」 is the concrete event of a person dying.
• Synonym没ぼつWrittenThe written way to note a death, common in chronologies and biographical data, as when 「没」 follows a year; it also means a rejected manuscript — a sense 「死去」 lacks.
• Synonym辞世じせいWrittenMeans taking leave of this world, but more often refers to the poem composed at death, as in 「辞世の句」; for death itself it is more archaic than 「死去」.
• Synonym死没しぼつWrittenNearly identical in meaning to 「死去」, but found mainly in historical records, chronologies and rosters, as in 「死没者」; news reports favor 「死去」.
• Synonym絶命ぜつめいWrittenStresses the moment life is cut off — breathing one's last; fits illness too but is especially common in accident and crime reports. 「死去」 highlights neither.
• Synonym長逝ちょうせいWrittenA literary word meaning to depart never to return, archaic and solemn, seen in eulogies and formal narratives; 「死去」 is plainer, and everyday speech prefers 「亡くなる」.
• Synonym落命らくめいWrittenMeans losing one's life, typically in accidents, disasters or battle, stressing the loss of life itself; 「死去」 is plainer and does not foreground the cause.
• Synonym没するぼっするWrittenA written-style verb common in biographical notes, as in 「〇〇年に没する」; it also means to sink or vanish, senses 「死去」 does not have.
• Synonym永眠えいみんWrittenLikens death to an eternal sleep — euphemistic, with a nuance of resting in peace; common in obituaries and eulogies. 「死去」 merely states the fact.
• Synonym事切れることきれるWrittenDepicts the moment of breathing one's last, typical of novel narration; 「死去」 is a general word for the event of dying.
• Synonym昇天しょうてんWrittenLiterally 'ascending to heaven', also a euphemism for 「死ぬ」 applicable to anyone, especially in Christian contexts; 「死去」 is plain and carries no metaphor.
• Synonymこの世を去るこのよをさるNeutralAn idiom meaning to leave this world — euphemistic and slightly literary; 「死去」 is a concise, report-style noun.
• Synonym死するしするWrittenThe literary equivalent of 「死ぬ」, found in maxims and literature such as 「死して名を残す」; modern narration uses 「死ぬ」 or 「死去する」.
• Synonym逝くいくWrittenRead 「いく」 or 「ゆく」; a euphemistic, wistful way to say someone has gone, typical of poetry and memorial writing, while 「死去」 leans toward objective reporting.
• Related往生おうじょうWrittenA Buddhist term for passing to the Pure Land, extended to dying; colloquially it also means giving up or being stumped — senses 「死去」 lacks.
• Related崩御ほうぎょFormalReserved for the death of an emperor, empress or king, with the highest honorific weight; never for ordinary people, whose death is reported with 「死去」.
• Related入滅にゅうめつWrittenA Buddhist term reserved for the death of the Buddha or high priests — entering nirvana; inappropriate for ordinary people, for whom 「死去」 is used.
• Related薨去こうきょFormalFor the death of imperial family members or nobles of third court rank and above, a step below 「崩御」; seen in imperial household news, not for ordinary people.
• Related卒去しゅっきょWrittenHistorically used for nobles of the fourth and fifth ranks; today it survives almost only in history books. For ordinary people, 「死去」 is the word.
• Related絶息ぜっそくWrittenMeans the breath ceasing, stressing the final gasp; can also describe things dying out. Very rare — reports use 「死去」, and the dying moment is usually 「息を引き取る」.
• Related寂滅じゃくめつWrittenA Buddhist term for shedding worldly desires and entering nirvana, extended to mean dying; carries a religious, philosophical air and is not used in daily life.
• Antonym誕生たんじょうNeutralThe opposite of 「死去」 for the birth of a person; it also covers the emergence of new things, as in 「新政権誕生」.
• Antonym出生しゅっしょうNeutralThe opposite of 「死去」 for a person's birth, but with an administrative, statistical flavor, as in 「出生届」; it can also mean one's background or origins.

Use 「死去」 to report that someone has died. In daily conversation about a death, 「亡くなる」 is the natural choice, while 「死亡」 suits statistics and accident reports. For respect, use 「逝去」; the imperial family has its own terms such as 「崩御」 and 「薨去」. Most of the rest are literary, Buddhist or context-specific terms.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

1. 人ひとが死しぬこと。