Translation guide
The English phrase "come out" has many different meanings. This guide breaks them down into practical uses and shows how to express each naturally in Japanese.
To physically leave a room, building, vehicle, or other enclosed area.
The most common and general verb for exiting or emerging. Use with particle を for the place left, or から for 'from'.
come out of the room
家から出る
come out of the house
Emphasizes movement toward the speaker or the speaker's viewpoint. Often used when someone comes out to where you are.
彼が部屋から出てきた。
He came out of the room.
Emphasizes movement away from the speaker. Often used when someone leaves a place and goes away.
彼女は急いで出ていった。
She came out quickly (and left).
When something that was hidden or not present becomes visible or appears.
General verb for appearing, emerging, or showing up. Can be used for people, objects, or abstract things.
月が雲の間から現れた。
The moon came out from behind the clouds.
突然、彼が現れた。
Suddenly, he came out (appeared).
Also used for appearing, especially for natural phenomena like the sun, moon, or stars, or for things like rashes.
日が出た。
The sun came out.
When a book, movie, album, product, or software becomes available to the public.
Standard term for commercial release or going on sale. Passive form of 発売する.
新しいiPhoneが発売された。
The new iPhone came out.
Casual and common way to say something is released, especially for books, magazines, movies, or games.
彼の新しい本が出た。
His new book came out.
その映画は来月出ます。
That movie comes out next month.
Used for movies, events, or information being made public or released.
新作映画が公開された。
The new movie came out (was released in theaters).
To disclose that one is gay, lesbian, bisexual, etc.
Loanword from English 'coming out'. The standard term in Japanese.
彼は家族にカミングアウトした。
He came out to his family.
More formal or descriptive phrase meaning 'to publicly announce that one is gay'.
彼はゲイであることを公表した。
He came out as gay.
To have a particular result or end in a certain state.
General pattern for 'to become' or 'to turn out'. Use with an adjective or noun.
すべてうまくいった。
Everything came out well.
写真がきれいに撮れた。
The photo came out nicely.
More explicit pattern meaning 'to result in ~'.
試験は合格という結果になった。
The exam came out as a pass.
When a stain, mark, or something unwanted is removed or vanishes.
Used for stains, dirt, or marks coming out/off. Intransitive.
この汚れは洗っても落ちない。
This stain won't come out even if I wash it.
Also means to come off or be removed, often for things that are attached or stuck.
When flowers open or leaves appear.
When words or sounds are spoken, sometimes unexpectedly.
Common for words or voice coming out, often with nuance of involuntarily or naturally.
驚いて声が出なかった。
I was so surprised I couldn't speak (my voice wouldn't come out).
つい本音が出てしまった。
My true feelings just came out.
To utter or mention something, often used for saying something significant.
While 出る is the most common translation for 'come out', it doesn't cover all meanings. For blooming flowers use 咲く, for stains use 落ちる, and for results use patterns like 〜になる.
出る is neutral. 出てくる emphasizes movement toward the speaker (come out here). 出ていく emphasizes movement away (go out/leave). Choose based on direction relative to the speaker.
顔ににきびが出た。
Pimples came out on my face.
The button came out (off).
He finally came out with those words.