kare ha ziko de ikinokotta.

は marks 彼 as the topic of the sentence: as for him...

So the sentence is presenting information about him. In English, this often still becomes a normal subject like He survived the accident, but in Japanese the topic marker は is very common.

If you used が instead, it would sound more like you are specifically identifying him as the one who survived, or introducing new information about who did it.

• 彼は事故で生き残った。 = As for him, he survived the accident.
• 彼が事故で生き残った。 = He is the one who survived the accident.

Both can be correct, but the nuance changes.

Here, で marks the situation/event in which something happened.

So 事故で生き残った means he survived in the accident / survived the accident.

This で is often used with things like:

• 火事で死んだ = died in a fire
• 戦争で生き残った = survived the war
• 病気で苦しんだ = suffered from illness

It does not mean the accident was a tool or method here. Instead, it marks the event or cause-related context.

Because に and で do different jobs.

With 生き残る, the event you survive is commonly marked with で:

• 事故で生き残る
• 戦争で生き残る

By contrast, に often appears with verbs like 遭う:

• 事故に遭う = to get into an accident / encounter an accident

So:

• 事故に遭った = he had an accident
• 事故で生き残った = he survived the accident

Those are different patterns.

生き残った is the past form of 生き残る.

It is made from:

• 生きる = to live
• 残る = to remain

Together, 生き残る means to survive, literally something like to remain alive.

Then:

• 生き残る = survive
• 生き残った = survived

So this is a compound verb with a very natural meaning in Japanese.

Because the sentence is talking about a completed event: the accident happened, and he survived it.

The -た form is the plain past:

• 生き残る = survives / will survive
• 生き残った = survived

In a dictionary or headline style, you might see 生き残る, but in a normal sentence about something that already happened, 生き残った is the natural choice.

It can be used, but Japanese often omits pronouns when the person is already understood from context.

So while 彼は事故で生き残った。 is perfectly grammatical, in natural conversation Japanese might simply say:

• 事故で生き残った。

if everyone already knows who is being talked about.

Also, 彼 can sound a little more explicit or written than English he. Japanese does not use pronouns as constantly as English does.

No. By itself, it only says he survived the accident.

It does not automatically mean:

• he was the only survivor
• everyone else died
• he barely survived

If you wanted to say he was the only one who survived, Japanese would need to say that more clearly, for example:

• 彼だけが事故で生き残った。 = Only he survived the accident.

So the original sentence is neutral on that point.

Both can relate to surviving, but the nuance is different.

• 助かる often means to be saved, to escape danger, or to be spared
• 生き残る emphasizes remaining alive, often after something severe, sometimes when others did not

Examples:

• 事故で助かった。 = He survived / was saved in the accident.
• 事故で生き残った。 = He survived the accident; he remained alive after it.

In many contexts, both could be translated as survived, but 生き残る can feel stronger or more dramatic.

Because 生き残る is an intransitive verb.

The person who survives is the subject/topic, not the object. Japanese does not treat the accident as a direct object here.

So the structure is more like:

• he = topic/subject
• in the accident = event marked by で
• survived = verb

That is why 事故を生き残った is not the normal pattern here.

Yes, Japanese word order is somewhat flexible as long as the particles make the roles clear.

The neutral order here is:

• 彼は事故で生き残った。

But you could also say:

• 事故で彼は生き残った。

That might put a little more attention on the accident as the setting.

Still, the verb usually comes at the end, and the original order is the most straightforward for learners.

Yes, it can create a slight contrast depending on context.

Because は can mark topic and sometimes imply contrast, 彼は事故で生き残った could, in the right context, suggest something like:

• He survived the accident ... maybe unlike someone else
• As for him, he survived

This contrast is not always strong. Often は is just the normal topic marker. But learners should know that は can carry that extra feeling if the context supports it.

• 事故 = じこ
• 生き残った = いきのこった

A helpful breakdown:

• 生き = いき
• 残った = のこった

So the full sentence is:

• かれ は じこ で いきのこった。

Yes, it is grammatical and natural.

That said, in real conversation Japanese often leaves out 彼は if the subject is already obvious:

• 事故で生き残った。

Also, depending on context, a speaker might choose 助かった instead of 生き残った.

But as a complete sentence for study, 彼は事故で生き残った。 is perfectly good Japanese.