1.
to lose consciousness; to black out; to faint
To gradually lose awareness, as if consciousness is receding into the distance. Describes the experience of fainting, passing out, or drifting into unconsciousness.
意識が遠のいていった。
I was losing consciousness.
痛みで意識が遠のきそうになった。
I almost blacked out from the pain.
熱中症で意識が遠のき、気がついたら病院にいた。
I lost consciousness from heatstroke and when I came to, I was in the hospital.
USAGE:
A vivid expression that describes consciousness moving away (遠のく = to recede, to move far away). It captures the gradual, drifting quality of losing awareness, unlike the more abrupt 気を失う. Often used in narrative or first-person accounts of medical emergencies, exhaustion, or intense pain.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 意識が遠のいていく (consciousness fading away — progressive form)
- 意識が遠のきそうになる (to feel like one is about to lose consciousness)
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 気を失う: to lose consciousness — more clinical and abrupt
- 意識を失う: to lose consciousness — neutral, medical term
- 気絶する: to faint — more sudden, often from shock