逝去|せいきょseikyo[1]atamadaka (head-high)

1. noun, suru verb, intransitive verbdeath; passing
   ご尊父そんぷのご逝去せいきょに対たいし、謹つつしんで哀悼あいとうの意いを表あらわします。↗

   Please accept my condolences on the death of your father.

• Synonym死亡しぼうNeutralNeutral and objective, common in statistics and reports; unlike 「逝去」 it carries no respect for the deceased.
• Synonym死去しきょWrittenWritten style used in news obituaries; states a death plainly, without the respect 「逝去」 conveys.
• Synonym没ぼつWrittenWritten style for chronologies and biographical profiles: 「1900年没」 means 'died in 1900'.
• Synonym物故ぶっこWrittenWritten, plain-toned word for a person's death, as in 「物故者名簿」 (list of the deceased); leans toward rosters.
• Synonym往生おうじょうWrittenWritten word for passing to the Pure Land; also figurative for being stuck and helpless, as in 「立ち往生」.
• Synonym他界たかいWrittenWritten euphemism for passing away, softer than 「死去」 but less respectful than 「逝去」.
• Synonym死しNeutralThe most direct noun for death, as in 「死を迎える」; carries no respect.
• Synonym終焉しゅうえんWrittenWritten word for the end of life or one's final moments; also figurative for the end of an era, as in 「時代の終焉」.
• Synonym死ぬしぬNeutralThe plainest colloquial verb 'to die'; carries no respect, so avoid it when referring to the death of an elder or superior.
• Synonym亡くなるなくなるNeutralThe everyday polite euphemism and most common choice; more colloquial than 「逝去」.
• Synonym辞世じせいWrittenWritten word for bidding farewell to this world; also a death poem, as in 「辞世の句」.
• Synonym死没しぼつWrittenWritten word for death, seen in official documents and epitaphs, as in 「死没者」.
• Synonym絶命ぜつめいWrittenWritten word for breathing one's last, life coming to an end; carries no respect for the deceased.
• Synonym入滅にゅうめつWrittenBuddhist term for the death of the Buddha or a high priest; not used for ordinary people.
• Synonym薨去こうきょFormalFormal: the death of princes, princesses, a crown prince's consort, or nobles of third rank and above; historical and royal-news register.
• Synonym卒去しゅっきょFormalFormal term for the death of nobles of the fourth and fifth ranks; largely historical, almost unused today.
• Synonym絶息ぜっそくWrittenWritten word for one's breath ceasing; rare, close to 「絶命」, with no respectful nuance.
• Synonym長逝ちょうせいWrittenRare written word for a long, final passing; carries a sense of reverent cherishing, close to 「永眠」.
• Synonym寂滅じゃくめつWrittenBuddhist term for the quietude of nirvana, also used for death; rare and strongly religious.
• Synonym落命らくめいWrittenWritten word for losing one's life, usually in accidents, as in 「事故で落命」; no respectful nuance.
• Synonym登仙とうせんWrittenClassical word for ascending to immortality, also for the death of a high-ranking person; extremely rare.
• Synonym遷化せんげFormalFormal Buddhist term for the death of a high priest; not used for ordinary people.
• Synonym没するぼっするWrittenWritten verb meaning to die, also to sink; found in biographies as 「〜年に没する」.
• Synonym易簀えきさくWrittenElegant classical term for the death of a scholar, from an old allusion; extremely rare.
• Synonymお隠れになるおかくれになるFormalHonorific for the death of an exalted person, mainly imperial; conveys even higher respect than 「逝去」.
• Antonym誕生たんじょうNeutralAntonym: birth, the opposite of 「逝去」; as in 「誕生日」.
• Antonym出生しゅっしょうNeutralAntonym: birth, leaning toward official registry usage, as in 「出生届」.

In everyday speech the polite default is 「亡くなる」. Use 「逝去」 for formal wording that honors the deceased, as in 「ご逝去の報」. News obituaries prefer 「死去」; a high priest's death is 「遷化」; for the opposite, birth, use 「誕生」.

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

1. 人ひとの死しを敬うやまって言いう語ご。