洗う
Meaning in Englishto wash
Animated kanji stroke order
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Word context
What it means
洗う means to wash or cleanse something with water or another liquid, covering cleaning objects, surfaces, or the body; it also extends to figurative cleansing such as clearing away dirt, residues, or problems.
Main meanings
- Physical cleaning of objects, clothing, dishes, or surfaces using water or a cleaning liquid
- Washing oneself or parts of the body for hygiene
- Rinsing or removing residue by liquid, often in stepwise actions
- Figurative cleansing sense, including clearing away stains, doubts, or metaphorically washing away problems
How to use it
As a transitive verb, 洗う expresses cleaning with liquid and is used across registers; polite speech uses 洗います, casual speech uses 洗う; it takes a direct object marked by を, and covers cleaning dishes, clothes, bodies, or objects, as well as routine hygiene and broader cleansing tasks.
Variants and close terms
- 洗浄する (senjou suru) – to wash/clean thoroughly
- すすぐ (susugu) – to rinse
- 清める (kiyomeru) – to purify, often ceremonial
- 洗い流す (arainagasu) – to wash away, to rinse off, sometimes metaphorical
Composition
- 洗 = water radical and the component 先; together they evoke cleansing with water
- う = hiragana ending that marks the verb as a godan -u form
Etymology
etimologia The word is a native Japanese verb with kun'yomi arau; the kanji 洗 carries the meaning 'to wash' and is used for semantic representation; historically it appeared in classical Japanese as 洗ふ, where ふ represents the old -u ending; the modern 洗う uses kana spelling and standard pronunciation.
Origin
Old Japanese usage, widespread in classical and medieval periods as a basic domestic action; no specific origin event, the verb reflects everyday cleaning practices from ancient times.
Word class
verb (godan, 五段動詞)