Translation guide
To twist or bend out of its normal shape, often in a way that looks unnatural or painful. In Japanese, this is expressed with verbs that describe twisting, bending, or distorting, depending on what is being contorted and whether the action is intentional or involuntary.
Describing a person's body or facial expression twisting into an unnatural shape, usually as an involuntary reaction.
Intransitive verb meaning 'to become distorted' or 'to be twisted'. Commonly used for faces or bodies contorting from pain, anger, or sadness.
彼の顔が苦痛で歪んだ。
His face contorted in pain.
怒りで彼女の口元が歪む。
Her mouth contorts with anger.
Transitive verb meaning 'to distort' or 'to twist'. Used when someone intentionally contorts their face or body, or when an external force causes distortion.
彼は顔を歪めて泣いた。
He contorted his face and cried.
Intransitive verb meaning 'to be twisted' or 'to become bent'. Can describe a body contorting into an unnatural position, but more often used for objects.
体がねじ曲がるような痛み。
A pain that makes your body contort.
Physically twisting or bending something, often with force, so that it loses its original form.
Transitive verb meaning 'to twist' or 'to bend by force'. Used for contorting metal, wire, or other objects.
彼は針金をねじ曲げてフックを作った。
He contorted the wire into a hook.
Also used for objects, meaning 'to distort' or 'to warp'. Often implies a change from the normal shape, sometimes with a negative nuance.
Transitive verb meaning 'to twist' or 'to wrench'. Often used for twisting something like a rope or cloth, but can also mean contorting one's body intentionally.
Twisting the truth, misrepresenting something, or giving a distorted account.
Suru-verb meaning 'to distort' or 'to twist' facts, statements, or truth. Strongly negative, implying deliberate misrepresentation.
彼は事実を歪曲して伝えた。
He contorted the facts.
Transitive verb meaning 'to bend' or 'to twist'. In abstract contexts, it can mean 'to distort' or 'to pervert' rules, truth, or principles.
彼は自分の都合のいいように真実を曲げた。
He contorted the truth to suit himself.
Can also be used metaphorically to mean 'to twist' or 'to distort' facts or logic, but less common than 歪曲する.
歪む (yugamu) is the most common word for faces or shapes becoming distorted, often due to internal emotion or external pressure. ねじ曲がる (nejimagaru) implies a more physical twisting, like a wire bending, and is less common for facial expressions.
English 'contort' often implies a dramatic, unnatural twisting. In Japanese, simply using 曲げる (mageru, 'bend') or よじる (yojiru, 'twist') may be more natural unless the distortion is extreme. Overusing 歪む for voluntary movements can sound odd.
彼の顔が苦痛で歪んだ。
His face contorted in agony.
彼女は体をよじって狭いスペースに入り込んだ。
She contorted her body to fit into the small space.
その記者は事実を歪曲してセンセーショナルな記事を書いた。
The journalist contorted the facts to create a sensational story.
熱でプラスチックが歪められた。
The plastic was contorted by the heat.
He contorted his body to squeeze through the narrow hole.
彼は論理をねじ曲げて自分の主張を通した。
He contorted logic to push his argument.