Translation guide
To lightly burn the surface or edges of something, often hair, fabric, or food. Japanese uses different verbs depending on what is being singed and how.
To burn something superficially, often accidentally, such as hair, fur, or fabric.
General verb for scorching or singeing something. Can be used for hair, fabric, food, etc. Transitive.
アイロンでシャツを焦がしてしまった。
I accidentally singed my shirt with the iron.
Intransitive counterpart of 焦がす. Describes the state of being singed or scorched.
髪の毛がストーブで焦げた。
My hair got singed by the heater.
Means 'to burn' or 'to grill'. Can imply singeing when used with hair or feathers, but often suggests more thorough burning. Context-dependent.
鶏の羽を焼く。
Singe the chicken feathers.
To lightly burn the ends of hair for styling or treatment purposes.
To pass food over a flame to burn off fine hairs or feathers.
To hold something over a flame to lightly burn or toast. Commonly used for singeing poultry or fish skin.
鶏肉をあぶって残った羽を取る。
Singe the chicken to remove remaining feathers.
General 'burn/grill', can be used for singeing in cooking contexts.
豚足の毛を焼く。
Singe the hair off the pig's trotters.
To pass fabric over a flame to remove protruding fibers.
Technical term for singeing fabric. Literally 'hair burning'.
布の表面を毛焼きする。
Singe the surface of the cloth.
General term, but can be used in textile contexts.
生地を焦がして毛羽を取り除く。
Singe the fabric to remove fuzz.
焦がす (kogasu) implies accidental or superficial burning, often with a negative nuance. 焼く (yaku) is a general term for burning, grilling, or roasting, and can be used for deliberate singeing. あぶる (aburu) specifically means to hold something over a flame to lightly burn or toast, often used in cooking.
There is no single Japanese verb that exactly matches 'singe' in all contexts. Choose the verb based on the object and intention. Using 焦がす for deliberate singeing in cooking may sound odd; prefer あぶる or 焼く.
Singe the ends of the hair.