充電切れ

• Reading: じゅうでんきれ
• Romaji: juuden kire
• Kanji breakdown: 充 (fill/charge) + 電 (electricity) + 切れ (cut off/exhausted) → battery has run out
• Pronunciation: /dʑuː.deŋ.ki.ɾe/

Meaning

Battery dead — the state of a device having completely run out of charge.

A straightforward compound of 充電 (charge/charging) and 切れ (cut off/exhausted), 充電切れ is the go-to expression for when your phone or device dies. While technically standard Japanese rather than slang, it has become so frequent in daily speech — especially in LINE messages and excuses for not replying — that it functions as essential modern tech vocabulary.

Examples

1. ごめん、充電切れで連絡できなかった。 Sorry, my battery died so I couldn't get in touch.
2. モバイルバッテリー忘れたから充電切れが怖い。 I forgot my portable charger so I'm worried about my phone dying.
3. ライブ中にスマホ充電切れになって写真撮れなかった。 My phone died during the concert and I couldn't take any photos.

Usage Guide

Context: daily conversation, LINE messages, any situation

Tone: apologetic, matter-of-fact

Do Say

• スマホ充電切れだからちょっと充電させて。 (My phone's dead, can I charge it for a bit?)
• 充電切れになる前にモバイルバッテリーつなごう。 (Let me plug in the portable charger before my battery dies.)

Don't Say

• 「充電切れ」を遅刻や未返信の言い訳に多用すると信用されなくなる (Overusing 'juuden kire' as an excuse for late replies loses credibility)

Common Mistakes

• Confusing 充電切れ (battery dead) with 充電中 (currently charging)

Origin & History

Standard Japanese compound of 充電 (charging) + 切れ (running out). Has been in use since mobile phones became common in the 2000s, but gained even more prominence with smartphones due to their higher battery consumption.

Cultural Context

Era: 2000s mobile phone era, intensified with smartphones

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal

Regional notes: Used across all of Japan. One of the most common everyday tech expressions.