音信不通(おんしんふつう)

おんしんふつう
noun
loss of contact; being out of touch
1. loss of contact; being out of touch; no communication
A state in which someone cannot be reached and no news or communication comes from them. Used when contact with a person has been completely lost.
友人(ゆうじん)と音信不通(おんしんふつう)になった。
I lost contact with my friend.
卒業(そつぎょう)以来(いらい)、彼(かれ)とは音信不通(おんしんふつう)だ。
I've been out of touch with him since graduation.
十年(じゅうねん)音信不通(おんしんふつう)だった兄(あに)から突然(とつぜん)連絡(れんらく)が来(き)た。
My brother, whom I hadn't heard from in ten years, suddenly got in touch.

A 四字熟語(よじじゅくご) (four-character compound) meaning complete loss of contact with someone.

COMPOUND: 音信(おんしん) (news/correspondence) + 不通(ふつう) (not going through)

COMMON COLLOCATIONS:

  • 音信不通(おんしんふつう)になる: to lose contact
  • 音信不通(おんしんふつう)のまま: still out of touch
  • 長年(ながねん)音信不通(おんしんふつう)だった: had been out of touch for years
  • 音信不通(おんしんふつう)だった人(ひと)から連絡(れんらく)が来(く)る: to hear from someone who had been out of touch

USAGE:
Can describe both intentional disappearance (someone cuts off contact) and unintentional loss of contact (drifting apart). Often used in the pattern ～以来(いらい)音信不通(おんしんふつう)だ (have been out of touch since ~).

In modern Japanese, also used casually for someone who stops responding to messages or calls.

general
Added 2026.3.8 17:48 · Revised 2026.4.7 12:52
15500/15718_onshinfutsuu