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拭く (ふく, fuku) Japanese meaning: wipe | Kotomora
Common word› JLPT N3 › Freq. Frequency Top 20,000 Conjugation 拭く · godan verb (-ku)
Form Positive Negative Dictionary 拭ふ く 拭ふ かない Polite 拭ふ きます 拭ふ きません Past polite 拭ふ きました 拭ふ きませんでした Past 拭ふ いた 拭ふ かなかった Te-form 拭ふ いて 拭ふ かないで Desire 拭ふ きたい 拭ふ きたくない Potential 拭ふ ける 拭ふ けない Passive 拭ふ かれる 拭ふ かれない Causative 拭ふ かせる 拭ふ かせない Causative passive 拭ふ かせられる also 拭ふ かされる 拭ふ かせられない also 拭ふ かされない Volitional 拭ふ こう Polite volitional 拭ふ きましょう Imperative 拭ふ け 拭ふ くな Conditional 拭ふ けば 拭ふ かなければ Tara conditional 拭ふ いたら 拭ふ かなかったら
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I dry my body with a towel after a bath.
Usage patterns 〈 物もの 〉 で 〈 物もの 〉 を 拭ふ く to wipe something with a cloth, towel, tissue, etc.
I wiped off my sweat with a towel.
汗あせ を 拭ふ く to wipe away sweat
He wiped the sweat from his forehead.
涙なみだ を 拭ふ く to wipe away tears
She wiped away her tears and smiled.
〈 物もの 〉 をきれいに 拭ふ く to wipe something clean/thoroughly
Expressions ケツを 拭ふ く wipe one's ass · clean up the mess; carry the can Related words 拭う is a more literary word for wiping away something like tears, sweat, or blood, while 拭く is the everyday word for wiping any surface or object.
掃除する means to clean a room or space more broadly, while 拭く specifically means to wipe a surface with a cloth.
拭く is the general verb for wiping anything, while 拭き取る specifically means to remove something (dirt, moisture, stains) completely by wiping.
Don't confuse with 拭く (to wipe) and 吹く (to blow) are pronounced identically but written with different kanji and mean completely different things.
拭く (to wipe) and 噴く (to spout or erupt) share the same pronunciation but have unrelated meanings, so context and kanji matter.
乾かす means to dry something by leaving it out or using heat/air, whereas 拭く means to dry it by wiping with a cloth.
Word family· 20 wipe off; wipe up; wipe away
wiping clean; cleaning by wiping; scrubbing
cleaner; wiper; eraser; cloth · cleaning; wiping; polishing
dry wiping; polishing with a dry cloth
Written forms 拭ふ く Usage 60%
ふく Usage 40%
Kana spelling is common in everyday writing, especially when the kanji is not needed.
Etymology Native Japanese verb. The kanji 拭 is used for its meaning 'wipe'.
拭く means to wipe with a cloth, whereas 掃く means to sweep with a broom or brush, so the two are easily confused as generic 'clean' verbs but use different tools.
napkin; mouth-wiping cloth
Show 7 more hand towel; handkerchief; tissue; napkin
wiping with a damp cloth; damp wiping
sweat-wiping cloth; cloth for wiping sweat
wiping with a dry cloth after wiping with a wet cloth
window cleaning
foot towel; cloth for wiping feet
doormat; shoe-wiping mat