1.
sleep paralysis
A condition where one is temporarily unable to move or speak while falling asleep or waking up. In Japanese folk belief, often attributed to supernatural causes.
金縛りにあった。
I experienced sleep paralysis.
夜中に金縛りにあって怖かった。
I had sleep paralysis in the middle of the night and it was scary.
金縛りは疲れやストレスが原因のことが多い。
Sleep paralysis is often caused by fatigue or stress.
2.
being bound, unable to move
Being physically or metaphorically restrained, unable to act freely.
恐怖で金縛りにあったように動けなかった。
I was so terrified I couldn't move, as if paralyzed.
規制に金縛りにされて自由に動けない。
Bound by regulations, we can't act freely.
借金に金縛りにされて身動きが取れない。
I'm shackled by debt and unable to make a move.
金縛り literally means "bound with metal" and most commonly refers to sleep paralysis — the inability to move while falling asleep or waking up.
COMMON PATTERNS:
- 金縛りにあう: to experience sleep paralysis
- 金縛りにされる: to be paralyzed, bound
- 金縛りにかかる: to be struck by paralysis
- 金縛りが解ける: for the paralysis to wear off
CULTURAL NOTE:
In Japanese folklore, sleep paralysis was traditionally attributed to supernatural causes — spirits or ghosts pressing down on the sleeper. This folk belief remains culturally significant, and many Japanese people describe the experience in supernatural terms even today.
FIGURATIVE USE:
Also used metaphorically for being unable to act due to fear, debt, regulations, or other constraints: 借金に金縛りにされる (to be shackled by debt).
ETYMOLOGY:
金 (metal) + 縛り (binding) — originally referred to being physically restrained with metal chains.