死者|ししゃshisha[1]atamadaka (head-high)

1. noundead person; (the) deceased; (the) dead; casualties
   その事故じこの犠牲者ぎせいしゃ数すうは死者ししゃ５名めい、負傷者ふしょうしゃ１００名めいであった。↗

   The toll from the accident was 5 persons dead and 100 persons injured.

• Synonym故人こじんWrittenA respectful way to refer to someone who has died, as in 「故人を偲ぶ」; where 死者 is objective and common in accident statistics, 故人 carries reverence.
• Synonym亡者もうじゃNeutralUnlike 死者, this suggests spirits of the dead, and figuratively a person obsessed with money or power, as in 「金の亡者」.
• Synonym死人しにんNeutralThe colloquial, blunter word for a dead person or corpse; more direct than 死者 and carrying a sense of taboo.
• Synonym死亡者しぼうしゃWrittenA written-style term for people who died, leaning statistical and journalistic; very close in meaning to 死者.
• Synonym亡き者なきものWrittenA written-style expression for the dead, seen mostly in 「亡き者にする」, which means to kill someone.
• Synonym亡き人なきひとWrittenA literary, written-style way to say the deceased, tinged with fond remembrance and warmth.
• Synonym物故者ぶっこしゃWrittenA formal written term for the deceased, used mainly in rosters and lists of names, as in 「物故者名簿」.
• Synonym帰らぬ人かえらぬひとNeutralA set phrase for someone who will never return — a wistful, sentimental euphemism for the dead.
• Antonym生者せいしゃWrittenAntonym: the living; a written-style counterpart to 死者.
• Antonym生存者せいぞんしゃNeutralAntonym: a survivor of an accident or disaster, the opposite of the 死者 who lost their lives.

Use 「死者」 for people killed in accidents, as in 「死者数」. For respectful remembrance choose 「故人」, for a literary touch 「亡き人」, for statistics 「死亡者」, for rosters 「物故者」, and as a euphemism 「帰らぬ人」. Survivors are 「生存者」.

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

1. 死しんだ人ひと。