Japanese word

濡らす

Pronunciation

Romajinurasu

Meaning

  • verbwet

Example

手を水で濡らします。te o mizu de nu ra shi ma su

I wet my hands with water.

Illustration for 濡らす (wet)

More examples

料理の前に、ふきんを濡らして絞ります。ryō ri no mae ni fu ki n o nu ra shi te shibo ri ma su

Before cooking, I wet and wring out the dishcloth.

Core concept

Describes causing something to take on water so that it becomes damp or thoroughly saturated.

Common phrases

  • 手を濡らすte o nu ra su

    wet one's hands

  • タオルを濡らすta o ru o nu ra su

    wet a towel

  • 指先を濡らすyubi saki o nu ra su

    wet one's fingertips

Similar words

湿らせるshimeraseru: To make something slightly damp by adding a small amount of liquid.
湿すshimesu: To moisten something, usually with a small amount of liquid.
浸すhitasu: To put something into liquid so that it becomes wet throughout.

Definition in Japanese

水などを含ませて、物をぬれた状態にする。mizu na do o fuku ma se te mono o nu re ta jō tai ni su ru

Word origin

濡らす (nurasu) is a native Japanese verb traditionally analyzed as 濡る (nuru, "become wet") plus す (su, "make something do so").

Usage tips

  • Japanese distinguishes 濡らす (nurasu) as a transitive verb from 濡れる (nureru) as an intransitive verb, so the former takes an object and the latter does not.

Other meanings

  • moistenverb
  • soakverb

Opposites

Related words

  • 濡らし方nurashikataway of wettingnoun

Word lists with this word