生かす · godan verb (-su)
| Form | Positive | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| Dictionary | 生かす | 生かさない |
| Polite | 生かします | 生かしません |
| Past polite | 生かしました | 生かしませんでした |
| Past | 生かした | 生かさなかった |
| Te-form | 生かして | 生かさないで |
| Desire | 生かしたい | 生かしたくない |
| Potential | 生かせる | 生かせない |
| Passive | 生かされる | 生かされない |
| Causative | 生かさせる | 生かさせない |
| Causative passive | 生かさせられる | 生かさせられない |
| Volitional | 生かそう | |
| Polite volitional | 生かしましょう | |
| Imperative | 生かせ | 生かすな |
| Conditional | 生かせば | 生かさなければ |
| Tara conditional | 生かしたら | 生かさなかったら |
godan verb (-su), transitive verb
make use of; put to good use; leverage
Using skills, experience, or resources effectively; often written 活かす in this sense.
I want to put my study-abroad experience to good use in my job.
He couldn't fully leverage his talents.
godan verb (-su), transitive verb
let live; keep alive
Only when written 生かす
Allowing someone or something to stay alive; often used with 生かす.
I keep the caught insect alive without releasing it.
He let the enemy live and go back.
godan verb (-su), transitive verb
revive; resuscitate; bring back to life
Only when written 生かす
Bringing someone back from near death or a lifeless state; restricted to 生かす.
The doctor worked hard to revive the cardiac-arrest patient.
godan verb (-su), transitive verb
restore (deleted text); stet
Proofreading term: to keep or restore a previously deleted passage; can use either kanji.
The editor decided to restore the deleted paragraph.
He makes use of his study-abroad experience to work as a translator.
The doctor performed surgery to save the patient's life.
In the proofreading, please leave the previous paragraph as it was.
救う means 'to save' someone from danger or death, while 生かす focuses on the resulting state of letting or keeping that person alive.
生かす means to make good use of something's inherent qualities, while 利かせる more broadly means to actively apply or bring out an effect, often in fixed set phrases.
生かす means to make the most of something like experience or skill for good effect, similar to 役立てる but with a more personal, growth-oriented nuance.