禁断症状

• Reading: きんだんしょうじょう
• Romaji: kindan shoujou
• Kanji breakdown: 禁 (kin) — prohibit, forbid; 断 (dan) — cut off, sever; 症 (shō) — symptom; 状 (jō) — condition, state
• Pronunciation: /ki.n.da.n ɕoː.dʑoː/

Meaning

Withdrawal symptoms; the physical or psychological symptoms that appear when an addictive substance or behaviour is suddenly stopped.

Refers to the range of symptoms—tremors, anxiety, insomnia, nausea—that emerge when addictive substances such as alcohol, drugs, or certain medications are abruptly discontinued. Used in clinical addiction medicine and formally in treatment protocols. Colloquially extended to describe intense cravings for everyday habits (e.g., SNSの禁断症状: social media withdrawal), which is used humorously.

Examples

1. アルコール依存症の患者が急に断酒すると、深刻な禁断症状が現れることがある。 When an alcoholic suddenly stops drinking, severe withdrawal symptoms can occur.
2. 禁断症状を和らげるために、段階的に薬の量を減らす方法が取られた。 To ease the withdrawal symptoms, a gradual tapering approach was used to reduce the medication dosage.
3. スマホを忘れると禁断症状が出ると、友人が冗談交じりに言った。 My friend jokingly said he gets withdrawal symptoms when he forgets his phone.

Usage Guide

Context: medicine, addiction, psychiatry, colloquial, social media

Tone: neutral

Origin & History

Compound of 禁断 (kindan, prohibition/forbidden) and 症状 (shōjō, symptoms). The compound literally means symptoms arising from the prohibition or cutting off of something the body has become dependent upon.

Cultural Context

Era: Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: General