日本語でも「死ぬ」という言葉は直接的過ぎるのでもっと婉曲的に表現することが多いものです。それは英語でも同様。die（死ぬ）以外の表現を見てみましょう。
pass away 亡くなる
【例文】I first encountered death when my maternal grandmother passed away in 1952. Although I was very young, I can still remember my family members gather around her while she was ill, my mother’s reaction when she received the news of the G, the all-night wake with jokes and stories, the trauma of the emotino-filled funeral, and burial in the family cemetery in the mountains of southwestern Virginia. I was too young at the time to truly understand what was going on. (Death and Dying in Central Appalachia: Changing Attitudes and Practices by James K. Crissman)
pass on 亡くなる
【例文】George and Louse have a son, Ray Wilburn Amyotte, born on June 19, 1944. George passed away on Novmber 25, 1959, in Bay City, Bay County, Michigan. Just two days after his death, Louise Amyotte, his wife, filled out and signed the application for a government headstone. She requested a flat bronze marker shipped to Floral Gardens Cemetery, Bay City, Ay County, Michigan. Louise passed away on April 14, 1987, and was buried nearby. His son, George Jr., passed on February 20, 2009 and was buried at Smyrna Baptist Church Cemetery, Smyrna, South Carolina. (引用元：History of 318 Field Hospital by Thomas Nelson)
参考
- What is the difference between ‘passed away’ and ‘passed on’? (Quora)
pass awayが最もよく用いられる婉曲表現だと思います。日本語の「亡くなる」と同じニュアンスでしょう。pass awayとpass onはどちらも「亡くなる」の意味です。pass away以外にも様々な婉曲表現があります。
死ぬを意味する種々の婉曲表現
I also caution people about the phrase “passed away.” While that often has theological connotations related to your belief system, for young children this can be confusing. I recommend using the ords “dead” and “died.” Other common euphemisms are: “passed on” ” kicked the bucket” “gone to your reward,” “went West,” or “there has been a celestial discharge.” Remember, young children take things literally, so such abstractions are often confusion. (Finding the Words: How to Talk with Children and Teens about Death, Suicide ,Funerals, Homicide, Cremation, and Other End-of-life Matters by Alan D. Wolfelt)
go to one’s reward 死ぬ
I was very sorry to hear that your grandfather went to his reward last night. (thefreedictionary.com)
dead 死んでいる
お前はもう死んでいる。You are already dead. （『北斗の拳』のケンシロウのセリフ）
decease【自動】死亡する【名】死亡
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) furnishes upon request, at no charge to the applicant, a government headstone or marker for the unmarked grave of any deceased eligible Veteran in any cemetery around the world, regardless of their date of death. If the Veteran served on or after April 6, 1917, and the grave is marked with a private headstone or marker, the Veteran may be eligible for a medallion. (Headstones, Markers and Medallions for Placement in Private Cemeteries benefits.gov)
死に関する講話
死ぬを意味するイディオムやスラング
- words meaning to die (28 words total) (onlineslangdictionary.com）
- List of expressions related to death (Wikipedia)
- 35 Creative Slang Terms for Death from the Past 600 Years
- Euphemisms for Dead, Death, and Dying: Are They Helpful or Harmful?
死に纏わるイディオム
- Death Idioms
参考にしたウェブサイト
- 死をめぐる表現 − Euphemisms for Death (Fragements 5月 19, 2013) 英語で「死ぬ」という動詞は die ですが、それ以外に pass away などの婉曲表現（euphemism）もよく用いられます。また Concise Oxford Thesaurus で die の類義語を調べてみると、以下のような長いリストが掲載されていました。
- 英語で「死亡」「逝去」「他界」を婉曲的に表現する言い方 （weblio 英会話コラム 2017年1月27日）
- 日本語、「死ぬ」ということの婉曲表現 YAHOO!JAPAN知恵袋 2012/6/209:58:21 英語ではたくさんあります: to buy the farm to pass away to cash in one’s chips to croak to kick the bucket to go belly up to hand in one’s chips to snuff it to peg out to give up the ghost to conk out to breathe one’s last to meet one’s maker to take a dirt nap to push up daisies
- 「死ぬ」を英語で何て言う？ ニューヨーク駐在英語 by Shin