Meaning

Primary

To Be Gone

Alternatives

To Run Out, To Be Lost, To Disappear

Word Type

intransitive verb, godan verb

Explanation

Here we have nothing, followed by the verb なる. A verb that means "become nothing"? That'll be to be gone, to run out, to be lost, or to disappear.

This can be translated in various ways depending on the situation, but just remember that it always refers to something changing from being there, to not being there.

Reading

なくなる
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

This uses the kun'yomi reading, which you learned with 無し, so you should be good to go.

Context

Common Word Combinations

  • すぐ無くなる

    to be gone quickly, to run out quickly

    もう無くなる

    to be gone already, to be gone soon

    まったく無くなる

    to completely run out

    ほとんど無くなる

    to be almost gone

Context Sentences

あ、トイレットペーパー、もうすぐ無くなるよ。

Oh, our toilet paper is almost gone.

することが無くなっちゃって、ヒマなんだよね。

I've run out of things to do and I'm bored.

カード社会では、現金を持つ必要がほぼ無くなった。

In a credit card society, the need to carry cash has almost disappeared.

Kanji Composition