赤痢
sekiri[se̞kʲiɾʲi]
Dysentery is translated into Japanese as 赤痢 (sekiri).
赤痢 is a noun used to describe the disease characterized by inflammation of the intestines.
Meaning: disease characterised by inflammation of the intestines (noun)
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is sekiri.
Did you know?
- While 赤痢 is the technical term, Japanese people often use the more general phrase お腹を壊す meaning 'to break one's stomach' to describe the symptoms of dysentery in casual conversation.
- The kanji 痢 belongs to a small group of characters in Japanese that are practically 'dead' in everyday writing and only survive within the narrow walls of medical textbooks and pharmaceutical labels.
- The word 赤痢 uses the kanji for 'red' and 'dysentery', referring to the bloody stools that characterize the illness.
Examples in context
- ディセンテリーの症状があるようです。早めに医者に診てもらった方がいいですよ。It seems like you have symptoms of dysentery. It's better to see a doctor as soon as possible.
- 昔は赤痢が流行っていました。mukashi wa sekiri ga hayatte imashita.Dysentery used to be an epidemic in the past.
- 赤痢の症状に注意してください。sekiri no shoujou ni chuui shite kudasai.Please be careful of dysentery symptoms.
- 彼は赤痢で入院しています。kare wa sekiri de nyuuin shite imasu.He is hospitalized with dysentery.
Example conversation
Two friends are discussing a history documentary they watched.
- 結衣 Yui昔の人は赤痢に苦しんでいたね。mukashi no hito wa sekiri ni kurushinde ita ne.People in the past suffered from dysentery, didn't they?
- 大翔 Hirotoそうだね、本当に大変だったと思うよ。sou da ne, hontou ni taihen datta to omou yo.Yeah, I think it was truly difficult for them.
- 結衣 Yui今は医学が進歩してよかった。ima wa igaku ga shinpo shite yokatta.I'm glad medical science has progressed now.
- 大翔 Hiroto結衣の言う通りだね。yui no iu toori da ne.You're right, Yui.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “dysentery” translations and entries 赤痢, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
