Translation guide
How to express 'clear away' in Japanese, covering removing objects, tidying up, clearing tables, and figurative clearing of doubts or obstacles.
To remove items from a surface or area, often to make it clean or organized.
The most common verb for tidying up or putting things away. It implies clearing away clutter and returning items to their proper places.
Please clear away the books on the desk.
To remove something unwanted or obstructive. More formal than 片付ける and often used for obstacles, dirt, or abstract things.
Formal term for removal, often used for structures, equipment, or large-scale clearing. Common in official contexts.
After the construction, they cleared away the equipment.
To remove dishes, leftovers, etc. from the dining table after a meal.
Polite and common way to say 'clear the table'. Literally 'lower the dishes', implying removal from the table.
To remove mental obstacles like doubts, suspicions, or confusion.
Idiomatic phrase meaning to clear away suspicion or doubt. 晴らす means to dispel or clear up.
For clouds, fog, or weather phenomena to disappear.
Intransitive verb meaning for the sky to clear up or for clouds/fog to lift. Not used with an object.
Clear away your toys.
Please clear away the obstacles.
It took time to clear away the snow.
When you finish eating, please clear away the dishes.
Also used for clearing the table, though it can refer to tidying up in general. Context makes it clear.
Let's clear away the table.
His explanation cleared away my doubts.
To resolve or clear away a misunderstanding. 解く means to untie or solve.
Let's talk and clear away the misunderstanding.
Formal word meaning to wipe out or dispel (doubts, anxieties). Often used in written or formal speech.
We held a briefing to clear away anxieties.
The clouds cleared away and the blue sky appeared.
General verb for disappearing; can be used for fog or mist clearing away.
The fog cleared away.
to remove obstacles
片付ける can mean 'to finish off' or 'to deal with' a person in a negative sense (e.g., to kill or defeat). Avoid using it when you mean 'to clear someone away' unless you intend that nuance.