How to Say "Anorexia" in Japanese

拒食症

kyoshokushō

The Japanese word for anorexia is 拒食症 (kyoshokushō).

拒食症 refers to anorexia, specifically a loss of appetite disorder.

Meaning: loss of appetite (noun)

What does it mean word for word?

The word is composed of 拒 (reject), 食 (eat) and 症 (disorder/syndrome).

kyoshokushō

In Japanese medical contexts, 拒食症 is often paired with 過食症 (kashokushō), which refers to bulimia or binge eating, creating a linguistic symmetry of 'rejecting' versus 'over-consuming' food.
The kanji 拒 in 拒食症 is also used in the word 拒否 (kyohi), which means 'refusal' or 'rejection' in a legal or official sense.
In casual conversation, someone might describe a loss of appetite simply as 食欲がない (shokuyoku ga nai), avoiding the clinical weight of the word 拒食症.

彼女は10代のころ拒食症になった。
She suffered from anorexia as a teenager.
This sentence is useful for seeing how to use 拒食症 when describing someone who suffered from the condition as a teenager.
Tatoeba #2318289 by tommy_san, translation #2317561 by Hybrid
彼女は拒食症と診断されました。
She was diagnosed with anorexia.
彼女は拒食で苦しんでいる。
She is struggling with anorexia.
拒食症はとても深刻な病気です。
Kyoshokushō wa totemo shinkoku na byōki desu.
Anorexia is a very serious illness.
最近、彼女は拒食症の傾向がある。
Saikin, kanojo wa kyoshokushō no keikō ga aru.
Recently, she has shown signs of anorexia.

Yui and Kenta are talking about a health documentary.

結衣 Yui

この番組は拒食症について伝えています。
kono bangumi wa kyoshokushou ni tsuite tsutaete imasu.
This program is about anorexia.
健太 Kenta

とても深刻な問題だね。
totemo shinkoku na mondai da ne.
That is a very serious problem.
結衣 Yui

心のケアが大切だと思います。
kokoro no kea ga taisetsu da to omoimasu.
I think mental care is important.
健太 Kenta

本当にそうだね。
hontou ni sou da ne.
I completely agree.

Sources

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