洗う
洗う · godan verb (-u)
| Form | Positive | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| Dictionary | 洗う | 洗わない |
| Polite | 洗います | 洗いません |
| Past polite | 洗いました | 洗いませんでした |
| Past | 洗った | 洗わなかった |
| Te-form | 洗って | 洗わないで |
| Desire | 洗いたい | 洗いたくない |
| Potential | 洗える | 洗えない |
| Passive | 洗われる | 洗われない |
| Causative | 洗わせる | 洗わせない |
| Causative passive | 洗わせられるalso 洗わされる | 洗わせられないalso 洗わされない |
| Volitional | 洗おう | |
| Polite volitional | 洗いましょう | |
| Imperative | 洗え | 洗うな |
| Conditional | 洗えば | 洗わなければ |
| Tara conditional | 洗ったら | 洗わなかったら |
Meanings
godan verb (-u), transitive verb
General physical washing: hands, face, clothes, dishes, etc. The most common sense.
Please wash your hands before meals.
She washes her face every morning.
godan verb (-u), transitive verb
investigate; look into; scrutinize
Figurative use: to examine or investigate something thoroughly, often used with 身元 (identity) or 過去 (past).
The police investigated his past.
godan verb (-u), transitive verb
purify one's heart; cleanse spiritually
Literary or spiritual use: to purify one's heart or soul, often in a metaphorical sense.
Purify one's heart under a waterfall.
godan verb (-u), transitive verb
wash over; sweep; lave
Describes water washing over a surface, such as waves on a shore or deck. Often used in descriptive or literary contexts.
The waves washed over the deck.
Usage patterns
- 〈人〉が顔を洗うsomeone washes their face
Every morning, I wash my face as soon as I get up.
- 〈物〉を洗濯機で洗うto wash something in a washing machine
I washed the dirty shirt in the washing machine.
- 〈人〉の身元を洗うto investigate someone's background
The police investigated the suspect's background.
- 〈人〉の過去を洗うto dig into someone's past
The reporter started digging into the politician's past.
- 〈人〉が心を洗うto purify one's heart or mind
Listening to the sound of the waterfall, I felt my heart being purified.
- 波が〈場所〉を洗うwaves wash over a place
A big wave washed over the deck.
Expressions· 7
- 足を洗うquit a shady business; wash one's hands of; go straight · wash one's feet
- 芋を洗うようjam-packed; teeming; heaving with people
- 血で血を洗うengage in a bloody feud; quarrel with one's own flesh and blood
- 赤貧洗うが如しextremely poor; in dire poverty; as poor as a church mouse
- 芋の子を洗うようjam-packed; teeming; heaving with people
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- 猫耳を洗うと雨が降るif a cat washes its ears, rain is coming
- 猫が顔を洗うと雨が降るif a cat washes its face, rain is coming