傷害
shōgai[ɕo̞ːɡa̠i]
The Japanese word for injury is 傷害 (shōgai), which refers to damage or violation. Wiktionary also lists 負傷 (fushō).
Meaning: damage or violation (noun)
Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| 傷害 | shōgai | [ɕo̞ːɡa̠i] (narrow) |
| 負傷 | fushō | [ɸɯ̟ɕo̞ː] (narrow) |
傷害 is a specific term used in the Japanese Penal Code to denote the crime of causing bodily harm to another person. If you want to describe a person being wounded or injured during an accident, warfare or an event, the standard term is 負傷. To express the general act of getting an injury or being injured in a more everyday way, you can use the phrase けがをする.
Which one should you use?
傷害 is used specifically in legal or criminal contexts to refer to bodily harm caused to another. In contrast, 負傷 is used to describe physical injuries sustained by a person, often in the context of accidents, warfare or sports. 負傷 is the standard term for describing a person being wounded or injured in an accident.
How do you pronounce it?
shōgai
Did you know?
- The word 傷害 is a 'homophone' for the Japanese word for 'disability' or 'handicap', which is also pronounced 'shōgai'. In a legal context, the listener understands you mean 'injury', but in a medical or social context, they might think you are discussing a permanent impairment.
- The word 負傷 contains the character '負', which also means 'to lose' or 'to be defeated'. This creates a subtle linguistic link between sustaining an injury and suffering a defeat in a competition or battle.
- In Japanese legal contexts, 傷害 covers not just physical wounds but also causing a physiological dysfunction, such as inducing a state of unconsciousness or a mental disorder.
Examples in context
- けが人が医療スタッフの手厚いケアを受けました。The injured person received excellent care from the medical staff.
- ケガをしたけど、大丈夫？You got injured, but are you okay?
- 私はスポーツで足をケガしました。I injured my leg while playing sports.
- 傷害事件が発生しました。shōgai jiken ga hassei shimashita.An injury incident has occurred.
- 彼は傷害で訴えられました。kare wa shōgai de uttaeraremashita.He was sued for injury.
Example conversation
Yui and Ren are discussing a news report about a legal case.
- 結衣 Yuiニュースで傷害事件について話していたよ。Nyūsu de shōgai jiken ni tsuite hanashite ita yo.The news was talking about an injury case.
- 蓮 Renそれはひどい話だね。Sore wa hidoi hanashi da ne.That is a terrible story.
- 結衣 Yui警察はそれを傷害罪として扱うみたい。Keisatsu wa sore o shōgaizai to shite atauku mitai.It seems the police will treat it as a crime of injury.
- 蓮 Ren当然の処置だと思うよ。Tōzen no shochi da to omou yo.I think that is the natural course of action.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “injury” translations and entries 傷害, 負傷, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
