Translation guide
How to express feeling discouraged, disheartened, or losing motivation in Japanese. The best choice depends on the cause and intensity of the feeling.
Expressing that you feel discouraged, downhearted, or have lost enthusiasm, often due to a setback or difficulty.
A very common and versatile phrase meaning to be disappointed or discouraged. It can be used for mild to moderate feelings.
試験に落ちてがっかりした。
I was dispirited after failing the exam.
彼の反応にがっかりした。
I was discouraged by his reaction.
Means to feel depressed or down. It implies a deeper, more lingering feeling than がっかりする, often after a personal failure or criticism.
失恋して落ち込んでいる。
I'm dispirited after a broken heart.
上司に叱られて落ち込んだ。
I felt dispirited after being scolded by my boss.
Literally 'the spirit sinks'. It describes a feeling of being weighed down or depressed, often by gloomy circumstances or persistent worries.
長雨で気がめいる。
The long rain makes me feel dispirited.
将来のことを考えると気がめいる。
I get dispirited when I think about the future.
A formal, literary expression meaning to be utterly dispirited or dejected. Often used in writing or serious contexts.
チームは敗戦に意気消沈した。
The team was dispirited by the defeat.
Expressing that you feel so discouraged that you want to give up or lose your drive.
Literally 'lose motivation'. A direct and common way to say you've become dispirited about a task or goal.
失敗続きでやる気をなくした。
I lost motivation after a series of failures.
彼の一言でやる気をなくした。
One word from him made me dispirited.
Literally 'one's heart breaks'. A vivid, colloquial expression for when your spirit is completely broken and you feel like giving up.
何度も断られて心が折れた。
I was dispirited after being rejected so many times.
Means to be discouraged or lose one's nerve. Often used when facing a challenge or setback that makes you want to quit.
Expressing a light, temporary feeling of being dispirited, similar to feeling blue or a bit down.
An onomatopoeic word describing a dejected, dispirited appearance or feeling, often after a mild disappointment.
犬がしょんぼりしている。
The dog looks dispirited.
試合に負けてしょんぼり帰った。
He went home dispirited after losing the game.
Literally 'have no energy'. A simple, common way to say someone seems dispirited or lacking their usual vitality.
今日は元気がないね。何かあった？
You seem dispirited today. Did something happen?
がっかりする is for disappointment, often about a specific event, and the feeling may pass quickly. 落ち込む implies a deeper, more lasting depression or discouragement, often about oneself. Use がっかり for 'I'm disappointed' and 落ち込む for 'I'm really down'.
映画がつまらなくてがっかりした。
I was disappointed the movie was boring.
仕事でミスして落ち込んでいる。
I'm dispirited because I made a mistake at work.
There is no single Japanese word that perfectly matches 'dispirited' in all contexts. Avoid trying to translate it literally. Instead, choose the phrase that best matches the intensity and cause of the feeling.
一度の失敗で挫けてはいけない。
Don't be dispirited by a single failure.