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Shinu (死ぬ): what it means in anime
死ぬ
しぬ · shinu · to die JLPT N5
Shinu means "to die". It is a JLPT N5 verb, but anime gives it a dozen forms you will not find in a textbook, from 死ね ("die!") to 死んでいる ("is dead").
Where you hear it 26 of 42 series
Lines from the Japanese subtitles of episodes 1–3 of each show. A translation is shown only when it clearly matches the line; counts are subtitle lines containing the word.
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Angel Beats! · 31 lines in episodes 1–3 · this one from episode 1
みんな死んでるからBecause everyone's dead.
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Chainsaw Man · 25 lines in episodes 1–3 · this one from episode 1
どうせ 死ぬんだ…｡I'm dead anyway.
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Jujutsu Kaisen · 24 lines in episodes 1–3 · this one from episode 1
じいちゃん… 死にましたMy grandpa... is dead.
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Demon Slayer · 13 lines in episodes 1–3 · this one from episode 1
お前の家族は 死んでなかったかもしれないyour family might not have ended up dead.
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Frieren · 12 lines in episodes 1–3 · this one from episode 3
模擬戦じゃなかったら 死んでたよIf this had been a real battle, you'd be dead.
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One-Punch Man · 12 lines in episodes 1–3 · this one from episode 1
誰だか知らんがお前の せいで兄さんが死んだ！I don't know who you are, but it's your fault my brother is dead!
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Vinland Saga · 12 lines in episodes 1–3 · this one from episode 1
もう死んでんじゃない？ 手足 腐ってるしHey, Father. Isn't he already dead? His hands and feet have already rotted.
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Noragami · 11 lines in episodes 1–3 · this one from episode 1
私死んでしまったのH-How is this... Am I dead?!
Also in: Frieren, One-Punch Man, Vinland Saga, Noragami, Reincarnated as a Slime, Dr. Stone, Tokyo Ghoul, One Piece, Soul Eater, Attack on Titan, Bleach, KonoSuba, Code Geass, The Promised Neverland, Naruto, Cowboy Bebop, Psycho-Pass, Your Lie in April.
Usage and nuance
The famous お前はもう死んでいる is 死ぬ in the て-form plus いる: "you are already dead". 死ね is the command and one of the harshest things a character can shout. 死にたくない ("I don't want to die") is the line of every frightened soldier in Attack on Titan.
Japanese softens death in polite speech with 亡くなる (nakunaru, to pass away). Characters who say 死ぬ about a person are being blunt, which is why it hits so hard in emotional scenes.
Casual speech adds slang senses: 死ぬほど ("to death") just means "extremely", and 死んだ after a terrible test score means "I'm finished".
Hear 死ぬ in Angel Beats!31 lines in episodes 1–3 · tappable subtitles · free, no account