Japanese Verb 出す (Dasu): Meanings, Compounds, and 出す vs 出る

Japanese lets one verb carry more jobs than English speakers expect. 出す (dasu) is a textbook case: dictionaries start with “take out,” yet the same word covers sending a letter, serving a meal, publishing a book, and kicking off a sudden rain shower.

The common thread is movement from “inside” to “outside”—of a bag, a kitchen, a mind, or a quiet sky. Once you hold that image, the scattered English translations start to line up.

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The core idea of 出す

As a standalone transitive verb, 出す roughly means “to put out” or “to bring out.” You move something from an inner space into the open, whether that space is physical or abstract.

Everyday senses include:

• take out / get out (from a place or container)
• send (a letter, mail)
• serve or put out (food)
• publish or release (a book, a product)
• submit or turn in (homework, a report)
• produce (a sound, energy, smoke)

Example sentences

この手紙を出すのを忘れないで下さい。
Kono tegami o dasu no o wasurenaide kudasai.

Don’t forget to send this letter.

Here 出す is “issue” or “send out”—the letter leaves your hands for the postal system.

あのレストランは良い食事を出す。
Ano resutoran wa yoi shokuji o dasu.

That restaurant serves good food.

The kitchen “puts the meal out” for guests; English prefers “serve.”

明日、ゴミを出してください。
Ashita, gomi o dashite kudasai.

Please take out the trash tomorrow.

A literal match for “put out”: garbage moves from inside the house to the collection point.

本を出すのが夢です。
Hon o dasu no ga yume desu.

It’s my dream to publish a book.

Publishing is “putting a book out” into the world.

元気を出して！
Genki o dashite!

Cheer up!

Literally “put out energy”—bring positive spirit forward instead of keeping it locked inside.

Verb stem + 出す: when an action suddenly starts

Attach 出す to another verb’s masu-stem and the compound often means “to start doing X,” with a sudden or uncontrolled feel—unlike a calm, planned beginning.

朝から雨が降り出した。
Asa kara ame ga furidashita.

It started raining this morning. (降り + 出す)

あの子は急に泣き出した。
Ano ko wa kyū ni nakidashita.

That child suddenly burst into tears. (泣き + 出す)

何も言わないで走り出した。
Nani mo iwanai de hashiridashita.

Without a word, he broke into a run. (走り + 出す)

Compared with ～始める, which often marks a deliberate start (“I began studying”), stem + 出す leans toward something that kicks off on its own: weather, emotion, an impulse. Learners meet this early around JLPT N4 because it shows up constantly in speech and stories.

Not every compound with 出す is only “start.” Some keep a spatial sense—taking or throwing something out—while others are fixed vocabulary. Context and the first verb decide which reading wins.

出す vs 出る: who moves what

出す (dasu) is transitive: you put something out. 出る (deru) is the intransitive partner: something goes out, appears, or leaves by itself (or the subject leaves a place).

Verb	Type	Core feel	Typical pattern
出す	Transitive	Take out, send, submit, serve	〜を 出す
出る	Intransitive	Go out, leave, appear	〜が 出る / 場所を 出る

ゴミを出す。
Gomi o dasu.

I take out the trash. (I move the garbage.)

太陽が出る。
Taiyō ga deru.

The sun comes out. (It appears on its own.)

部屋を出る。
Heya o deru.

I leave the room. (With 出る, を marks the place you leave—not the object you push outside.)

もっと声を出してください。
Motto koe o dashite kudasai.

Please speak louder / project your voice. (You produce the sound with 出す, not 出る.)

Keeping the pair straight prevents a common mix-up: if you are the one moving an object outward, reach for 出す; if something emerges or someone exits, 出る is usually the fit.

Useful compounds with 出す

Japanese stacks verbs freely. With 出す as the second half, you get everyday compounds that learners hear long before they analyze the pattern.

• 思い出す (omoidasu) — to remember; thoughts “come out” into awareness
• 書き出す (kakidasu) — to start writing, or to write out / list
• 放り出す (hōridasu) — to throw out / dump out
• 取り出す (toridasu) — to take out / pick out
• 飛び出す (tobidasu) — to jump out / rush out

どうしても彼女の名前が思い出せない。
Dōshitemo kanojo no namae ga omoidasenai.

No matter what I do, I can’t remember her name.

彼は家から放り出された。
Kare wa ie kara hōridasareta.

He was thrown out of the house.

These combinations are only a sample. Once you recognize the stem + 出す shape, new compounds are easier to guess from the first verb instead of memorizing every gloss in isolation.

Other verbs built on the kanji 出

The kanji 出 (“exit,” “emerge”) anchors a family of related words. A few you will meet early:

• 出る (deru) — to go out, emerge, leave
• 出来る (dekiru) — to be able to do; also “to be completed / come into being”
• 出会う (deau) — to meet (by chance)
• 出かける (dekakeru) — to go out (for an errand, a trip out of the house)

映画館から出る。
Eigakan kara deru.

To leave the movie theater.

日本語が出来る。
Nihongo ga dekiru.

I can (speak) Japanese.

彼女と偶然出会った。
Kanojo to gūzen deatta.

I ran into her by chance.

How to practice 出す without freezing

• Collect full sentences, not single glosses. The same verb means “send,” “serve,” or “publish” only when the object is clear.
• Ask who causes the movement: if you put it out, 出す; if it appears or leaves, check 出る.
• When you see stem + 出す, test both “starts suddenly” and “brings X out” against the first verb.
• Pair study with a solid N4 verb list so compounds sit next to the base forms you already know.

Over time the “inside → outside” image does more work than any English synonym list.

Wrapping up

出す (dasu) looks simple on a flashcard and messy in real Japanese—which is exactly why it rewards attention. Master the core “put out” idea, learn when the stem form marks a sudden start, and keep 出る as the intransitive twin. The examples above are a starter kit; every new sentence with 出す is another chance to refine the map.