The Meaning of arau [洗う] In Japanese

洗う
あらう
Romaji: arau N5

What does 洗う mean?

Translation and Meaning

to wash, to clean, to rinse, to bathe

Definition

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.

Type

verb (godan, 五段動詞)

Stroke Order

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

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.

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

Usage

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.
💡 Tips
Mnemonic: visualize the water radical on 洗 and imagine dirt being scrubbed away; the kun reading arau can be reinforced by linking it to the sound a-RAU, echoing the action of washing.

Variations

  • 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

Example Phrases

  • 食器 を 洗う のは 私の 毎日の 仕事だ。
    shokki o arau no wa watashi no mainichi no shigoto da.
    Washing dishes is my daily job.
    Lista:
    • 食器 (shokki) – dishes
    • を (o) – object marker
    • 洗う (arau) – wash
    • のは (no wa) – the act of
    • 私の (watashi no) – my
    • 毎日の (mainichi no) – daily
    • 仕事だ (shigoto da) – is a job
    In this sentence, 「食器」 is the object of 洗う; the phrase 食器を洗う is the act of washing dishes, and のは nominalizes that verb phrase to make it the topic.
  • 台所で鍋を洗うときは水を少しずつ使う。
    Daidokoro de nabe o arau toki wa mizu o sukoshi zutsu tsukau.
    When washing a pot in the kitchen, use a little water at a time.
    Lista:
    • 台所 (daidokoro) – kitchen
    • で (de) – location particle
    • 鍋を洗う (nabe o arau) – to wash a pot
    • ときは (toki wa) – when (topic)
    • 水を (mizu o) – water
    • 少しずつ (sukoshi zutsu) – little by little
    • 使う (tsukau) – to use
    Aqui aparece a estrutura 「〜ときは」 que significa ‘quando’, com o verbo no modo dicionário 「洗う」 (destacado entre 「」) para indicar a ação de lavar.
洗う