ならす

な

ら

す

Meanings

1

godan verb (-su), transitive verb

usually written using kana alone

Used for making a surface even, such as ground, soil, or a road. Often appears in gardening, construction, or preparation contexts.

庭にわの地じ面めんをならしてから芝生しばふを植うえた。
We leveled the garden ground before planting the lawn.

工こう事じの前まえに、重じゅう機きで土と地ちをならす。

Before construction, they level the land with heavy machinery.

2

godan verb (-su), transitive verb

average; even out

usually written using kana alone

Used for averaging numbers, costs, or results over time or across items. Often appears in financial or statistical contexts.

毎まい月つきの支し出しゅつをならすと、だいたい15万まん円えんくらいになる。
If you average the monthly expenses, it comes to about 150,000 yen.
テストの点てん数すうをならして、クラスの平へい均きんを出だした。
We averaged the test scores and calculated the class average.

Written forms

ならすUsage90%
Usually written in kana; the kanji forms 均す and 平す are rare.
均ならすUsage10%
Rare kanji form; the kana spelling is preferred.
平ならす
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form; the kana spelling is preferred.

Kanji

均level, average
平even, flat, peace

Similar words

平たいらにする
平らにする is a more general and common way to say 'make flat,' while ならす often implies smoothing or leveling a surface with care.
平へい均きんする
平均する is the standard term for 'average' in mathematical or formal contexts; ならす is more colloquial and often used for rough averaging.

Etymology

The verb ならす is related to the adjective なだらか (smooth, gentle) and the verb ならぶ (to line up), sharing a root meaning of 'even' or 'level.' The kanji 均 and 平 both convey the idea of uniformity and flatness.