Phrase guide

fan death

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A form of death supposedly caused by staying overnight in a closed room in which an electric fan is operating.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: South-Korea, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

10 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 電風扇致死 /电风扇致死 (diànfēngshàn zhìsǐ) — death supposedly caused by staying overnight in a closed room with an electric fan
  • Finnish: tuuletinkuolema — death supposedly caused by staying overnight in a closed room with an electric fan
  • French: mort par ventilateur — death supposedly caused by staying overnight in a closed room with an electric fan
  • German: Ventilatortod — death supposedly caused by staying overnight in a closed room with an electric fan
  • Japanese: 扇風機の都市伝説 (senpūki no toshidensetsu) — death supposedly caused by staying overnight in a closed room with an electric fan
  • Korean: 선풍기 사망설 (seonpunggi samangseol) — death supposedly caused by staying overnight in a closed room with an electric fan
  • Russian: смерть от вентиля́тора (smertʹ ot ventiljátora) — death supposedly caused by staying overnight in a closed room with an electric fan
  • Spanish: muerte por ventilador — death supposedly caused by staying overnight in a closed room with an electric fan
  • Swedish: fläktdöden — death supposedly caused by staying overnight in a closed room with an electric fan
  • Vietnamese: chết do quạt — death supposedly caused by staying overnight in a closed room with an electric fan