亡くなる
なくなる · nakunaru · JLPT N4 · verb-godan
to pass away
🕊️ 亡 = perish + なる become: to become gone, the gentle word for dying
Same sound as 無くなる (to run out, disappear), but written with 亡, the kanji for perish. Japanese softens death by saying the person became not-here. Polite and indirect, like pass away versus die.