Word
干す
Meaning in Englishto air, to dry, to drink up
Animated kanji stroke order
Word context
What it means
干す means to dry something by removing moisture, typically by air or sunlight; it describes the act of exposing an item to air or sun until it becomes dry, usually with a direct object.
Main meanings
- to dry something by removing moisture, typically using air or sunlight
- to hang out or spread items so they become dry, such as clothing or laundry
- to dry foods or natural products as part of processing, e.g., fish or vegetables
How to use it
Used as a transitive verb in casual and polite speech to describe removing moisture from an object by air exposure; common with laundry, foods, and various materials; conjugates into forms such as 干します (polite) and 干して (te-form); typical contexts include drying clothes after washing, sun-drying foods, and air-drying herbs and vegetables.
Variants and close terms
- 乾かす (かわかす) to dry by air
- 濡らす (ぬらす) to wet
Composition
- 干: core meaning to dry;
- す: verb suffix turning the concept into a verb;
- they combine to express the act of drying an object by removing moisture
Word class
verb (godan)