near death experience
A "near death experience" is a cluster of conscious perceptions, such as leaving one's body, moving through a tunnel of light, or overwhelming calm, reported by people who have been clinically dead or close to death. The German term is well established, though spelling variants exist.
1. Nahtoderfahrung
The standard German equivalent, equally at home in clinical literature, popular science, and everyday conversation.
After her cardiac arrest, she described a near death experience that fundamentally altered her outlook on life.
Nach ihrem Herzstillstand schilderte sie eine Nahtoderfahrung, die ihre Einstellung zum Leben grundlegend veränderte.
Researchers have collected thousands of near death experience accounts from patients across different cultures.
Forscher haben Tausende von Berichten über Nahtoderfahrungen von Patienten aus verschiedenen Kulturen gesammelt.
He wrote a memoir about his near death experience during a diving accident off the coast of Australia.
Er schrieb seine Memoiren über seine Nahtoderfahrung bei einem Tauchunfall vor der australischen Küste.
Notes
In English, "near death experience" (no hyphen) and "near-death experience" (hyphenated) are both accepted; the hyphenated form is preferred in academic writing. In German, three spellings coexist: Nahtoderfahrung (single compound), Nahtod-Erfahrung, and Nahtod-Erlebnis (also used untranslated in German scientific contexts).