うつす

う

つ

す

Meanings

1

godan verb (-su), transitive verb

infect; pass a disease to; spread an infection

usually written using kana alone

Transitive verb meaning to transmit an illness to someone else. The subject is the carrier, and the object is the person infected. Often used with 風邪 (cold) or 病気 (illness).

Written forms

Applies to each form listed below

gikun (meaning-based reading) or jukujikun

感う染つす
Rare kanji spelling using gikun reading; not standard.
伝う染つす
Rare kanji spelling using gikun reading; not standard.

Kanji

感emotion, feeling, sensation
染dye, color, paint
伝transmit, go along, walk along

Similar words

うつる
Intransitive counterpart: うつる means 'to be infected' or 'to catch (an illness)', while うつす means 'to infect (someone else)'.
感かん染せんさせる
More formal and technical term for 'to infect', often used in medical contexts. うつす is the everyday equivalent.

Etymology

Derived from the transitive form of うつる (to move, to be transmitted). The kanji spellings 感染す and 伝染す are gikun (meaning-based readings) and not etymologically related to the kanji components.