告知

• Reading: こくち
• Romaji: kokuchi
• Kanji breakdown: 告 (koku) — declare, inform; 知 (chi) — know, inform
• Pronunciation: /ko.kɯ.tɕi/

Meaning

Notification; announcement; notice. The formal or official act of informing someone of something important.

Widely used in medical, legal, and administrative contexts. In medicine, 病名告知 (byoumei kokuchi) refers to disclosing a diagnosis — particularly a serious or terminal one — to a patient, which has been a subject of significant ethical debate in Japan. In advertising it refers to advance publicity (kokuchi koukoku). The term implies a degree of formality and consequence not found in everyday 知らせ (shirase, notice/news).

Examples

1. 医師は家族と相談の上で、患者本人に病名を告知することを決めた。 After consulting with the family, the doctor decided to disclose the diagnosis directly to the patient.
2. 映画の公開に先立ち、予告映像とともに告知が各メディアに配信された。 Ahead of the film's release, an announcement accompanied by a trailer was distributed to various media outlets.
3. 行政機関は住民に対し、立ち退きの告知を文書で行う義務がある。 Government bodies are obliged to notify residents of an eviction order in writing.

Usage Guide

Context: medicine, law, media, administration

Tone: neutral

Origin & History

Sino-Japanese compound of 告 (koku, inform, declare) and 知 (chi, know, knowledge). Together they describe the act of conveying knowledge to another party in an official or significant capacity.

Cultural Context

Era: Meiji–Modern

Generation: Adults

Social background: Universal