Translation guide
The English word "dip" has many meanings. This guide covers the most common ones for learners: lowering something into a liquid, a decrease, a sauce for dipping, and a brief swim. Other meanings like a downward slope or a foolish person are less common and not included.
To put something briefly into a liquid and take it out again.
Transitive verb meaning to soak or immerse something in liquid. Often used for dipping food or objects.
Dip bread into soup.
Very common verb meaning to dip or soak. Used for food (e.g., dipping in sauce) and other objects.
Dip sushi in soy sauce.
Intransitive verb meaning to be soaked or immersed. Used when something is dipped or soaking (e.g., in a bath).
Soak in a hot spring.
Means to pass something through liquid briefly, like dipping quickly. Often used in cooking.
Dip the noodles in cold water.
A temporary or slight decrease in amount, level, or value.
Noun meaning a drop or slump. Commonly used for economic dips or emotional lows.
I'm worried about the dip in sales.
Noun meaning decline or drop. Formal and used for statistics, quality, etc.
Intransitive verb meaning to go down or drop. Casual and common.
Loanword used in technical or financial contexts, e.g., a dip in a graph.
A thick sauce into which food is dipped.
Loanword commonly used for Western-style dips like salsa or sour cream.
I bought a dip for chips.
Japanese term for dipping sauce, used for tempura, soba, etc.
This dipping sauce is delicious.
General word for sauce, often used for dipping sauces like tonkatsu sauce.
A quick swim or going into water briefly.
Means a quick swim or dip. Natural and common.
Let's take a dip in the ocean.
Literally 'water bathing', used for a quick dip or splashing in water, often for animals or casually.
The dog took a dip in the river.
As above, can mean soaking in a bath or hot spring, implying a relaxing dip.
Do not use 浸す or つける for a decrease in numbers. Use 落ち込み or 低下 instead.
浸す often implies soaking thoroughly, while つける is more casual and brief. For dipping food in sauce, つける is more common.
I dipped my toe in the water.
There was a dip in the road.
For a physical dip in a surface, くぼみ (hollow/depression) is used.
Please be careful of the dip in temperature.
Stock prices dipped suddenly.
You can see a small dip in the graph.
Dip the tonkatsu in sauce.
I'll go take a quick dip in the bath.