Translation guide
The English verb 'expire' covers several distinct meanings: something coming to an end (like a deadline or contract), a person dying, or breathing out. This guide focuses on the most common meaning for learners: when a document, period, or right reaches its end. It also covers the less common meanings of dying and exhalation.
When a document, period, right, or offer comes to an end after a set time.
My visa expires next month. · The offer expires at midnight. · Your subscription has expired.
The most common and natural way to say something expires in everyday Japanese. Used for deadlines, contracts, visas, subscriptions, etc. Intransitive verb.
パスポートが切れそうだ。
My passport is about to expire.
この牛乳、昨日で切れてた。
This milk expired yesterday.
Literally 'the deadline expires'. More explicit than just 切れる, often used in formal or written contexts.
このクーポンは期限が切れています。
This coupon has expired.
Formal term used for the expiration of contracts, terms of office, or legal periods. Often seen in official documents.
契約期間が満了した。
The contract period has expired.
Means 'to become invalid' or 'to lapse'. Used for licenses, rights, or legal effects expiring, often due to conditions not being met.
免許が失効した。
The license has expired.
To die, especially in a formal, literary, or euphemistic sense.
The patient expired during the night. · He expired at the age of 90.
The standard formal word for 'to die'. Used in news reports, official documents, and medical contexts.
患者は昨夜死亡した。
The patient expired last night.
A respectful and euphemistic term for dying, often used when referring to someone else's death.
祖父が先月逝去しました。
My grandfather passed away last month.
To breathe out air from the lungs.
Inhale, then expire slowly. · The device measures the volume of expired air.
The general phrase for 'to exhale' or 'to breathe out'. Used in everyday and technical contexts.
ゆっくり息を吐いてください。
Please exhale slowly.
A technical medical or physiological term for 'to exhale'. Rarely used in daily conversation.
患者は正常に呼気している。
The patient is expiring normally.
English 'expire' is often translated as 切れる (きれる) in natural Japanese. Using a direct translation like 期限切れになる is grammatically correct but can sound stiff. For everyday items like milk or coupons, 切れる is preferred.
牛乳が切れた。
The milk has expired.
切れる (きれる) is the general-purpose word for expiration. 満了する (まんりょうする) is used for fixed-term contracts or tenures ending naturally. 失効する (しっこうする) implies invalidation, often due to a condition not being met (e.g., a license expiring because of non-renewal).
Literally 'to take one's last breath'. A common idiomatic expression for dying, similar to 'expire' in its literal sense.
彼は静かに息を引き取った。
He expired peacefully.