Translation guide
The process of breaking down food in the body, and related metaphorical uses.
The physical process of breaking down food in the digestive system.
The standard term for digestion, both as a biological process and metaphorically.
消化に良い食べ物を教えてください。
Please tell me foods that are good for digestion.
胃は消化の役割を担っています。
The stomach plays a role in digestion.
The verb 'to digest'. Used for both food and abstract concepts.
この薬は食べ物を消化するのを助けます。
This medicine helps digest food.
Digestive organs; a more technical term.
消化器官の働きについて学んでいます。
I'm learning about the function of the digestive organs.
The act of mentally absorbing or understanding information.
Metaphorically digesting information, ideas, or experiences. Very common.
新しい情報を消化するのに時間がかかる。
It takes time to digest new information.
彼の話は難しくて、まだ消化できていない。
His story was difficult, and I haven't digested it yet.
To understand or comprehend. A more direct alternative when 'digest' means 'grasp mentally'.
その概念を完全に理解するには時間が必要だ。
I need time to fully digest (understand) that concept.
Literally 'to swallow', but can mean to accept or digest an idea, often with a nuance of reluctantly accepting.
Breaking down substances by chemical or biological means, as in waste treatment.
Used in technical contexts like anaerobic digestion.
嫌気性消化はバイオガスを生成します。
Anaerobic digestion produces biogas.
消化 implies a gradual process of breaking down and absorbing, while 理解 is a more general 'understand'. Use 消化 when emphasizing the time and effort needed to fully internalize something.
この本の内容を消化するには一週間かかった。
It took a week to digest the contents of this book.
この本の内容を理解するのは簡単だ。
It's easy to understand the contents of this book.
English 'digest' can mean a summary or compilation (e.g., 'Reader's Digest'). In Japanese, use ダイジェスト (daijesuto) or 要約 (ようやく) for that meaning, not 消化.
この記事のダイジェストを読んだ。
I read a digest of this article.
I struggled to digest (swallow) that fact.