What does “arau” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers say “arau” to mean ‘to wash’ in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this verb as it is sometimes used in Japanese conversations. In this blog post, however, I will explain it together with its major conjugations. And also, I will explain how to use them through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners use “arau” more properly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
- Definition and meaning of “arau”
- Arawanai: the nai form of “arau”
- Araou: the volitional form of “arau”
- Araimasu: the masu form of “arau”
- Aratta: the ta form of “arau”
- Aratte: the te form of “arau”
- Araeba: the ba form of “arau”
- Summary
Definition and meaning of “arau”
Let me start with the definition and meaning of “arau”.
- arau – 洗う (あらう) : a verb meaning ‘to wash’ in Japanese.
The definition and meaning are simple and clear. Let me explain how to use this verb through the example sentence below.
Example #1: how to say “wash” in Japanese
boku wa mainichi kuruma wo arau – 僕は毎日車を洗う (ぼくはまいにちくるまをあらう)
I wash my car every day.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- boku – 僕 (ぼく) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese. This is used mainly by boys and young males.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “boku” to make the subject in the sentence.
- mainichi – 毎日 (まいにち) : a noun meaning ‘every day’ in Japanese. This can also work as an adverb almost anywhere in a sentence. In the example, this works as an adverb in the middle of the sentence to say “every day” in Japanese.
- kuruma – 車 (くるま) : a noun meaning ‘car’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. Learn more about Japanese plural.
- wo – を : a case particle used to make the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “kuruma” to make the object in the sentence.
This is a typical usage of “arau”. In the example, it works together with the case particle, “wo”, to have the object. When we want to mean ‘to wash’ in Japanese, anyway, this verb is a very good option.
So far, I’ve explained the definition and meaning of “arau” and how to use it through the example sentence. In the rest part of this blog post, I will explain its major conjugations. The first one is “arawanai”.
Arawanai: the nai form of “arau”
Below are the definition and meaning of “arawanai”.
- arawanai – 洗わない (あらわない) : the nai form of “arau”, which means ‘not to wash’ in Japanese.
Grammatically, “arawanai” consists of the following two parts:
- arawa – 洗わ (あらわ) : one conjugation of “arau”. This can have a smooth connection with “nai”.
- nai – ない : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to deny its meaning. Word orders in Japanese and English are different, but the role of this auxiliary verb is very similar to that of “not”.
From these two parts, we can understand that “arawanai” is literally the nai form of “arau” and means ‘not to wash’ in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use this form through the example sentence below.
Example #2: how to say “don’t wash” in Japanese
watashi wa mainichi kuruma wo arawanai – 私は毎日車を洗わない (わたしはまいにちくるまをあらわない)
I don’t wash my car every day.
Below is the new word used in the example sentence.
- watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
This is a typical usage of “arawanai”. When we want to mean ‘not to wash’ in Japanese, this nai form is a very good option.
Araou: the volitional form of “arau”
Below are the definition and meaning of “araou”.
- araou – 洗おう (あらおう) : the volitional form of “arau”, which expresses volition to wash.
Grammatically, “araou” consists of the following two parts:
- arao – 洗お (あらお) : one conjugation of “arau”. This can have a smooth connection with “u”.
- u – う : an auxiliary verb used after a verb to make its volitional form.
From these two parts, we can understand that “araou” is literally the volitional form of “arau” and expresses volition to wash in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use this form through the example sentence below.
Example #3: how to say “let’s wash” in Japanese
te wo araou – 手を洗おう (てをあらおう)
Let’s wash our hands!
Below is the new word used in the example sentence.
- te – 手 (て) : a noun meaning ‘hand’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.
This is a typical usage of “araou”. In this example, it works to make the suggestion. When we want to say “let’s wash” in Japanese, this volitional form is a good option.
Araimasu: the masu form of “arau”
Below are the definition and meaning of “araimasu”.
- araimasu – 洗います (あらいます) : the masu form of “arau”, which means ‘to wash’ politely in Japanese.
Grammatically, “araimasu” consists of the following two parts:
- arai – 洗い (あらい) : one conjugation of “arau”. This can have a smooth connection with “masu”.
- masu – ます : an auxiliary verb used after a verb to make it polite. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese masu form.
From these two parts, we can understand that “araimasu” is literally the masu form of “arau” and means ‘to wash’ politely in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use this form through the example sentence below.
Example #4: how to say “wash” politely in Japanese
kanojo wa mainichi kami wo araimasu – 彼女は毎日髪を洗います (かのじょはまいにちかみをあらいます)
She washes her hair every day.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese.
- kami – 髪 (かみ) : a noun meaning ‘hair’ in Japanese.
This is a typical usage of “araimasu”. Its politeness has not been reflected in the English sentence, but the Japanese sentence sounds polite thanks to the masu form. When we want to say “wash” politely in Japanese, this form is a very good option.
Aratta: the ta form of “arau”
Below are the definition and meanings of “aratta”.
- aratta – 洗った (あらった) : the ta form of “arau”, which means ‘washed’, ‘have washed’, or such in Japanese.
Grammatically, “aratta” consists of the following two parts:
- arat – 洗っ (あらっ) : one conjugation of “arau”. This can have a smooth connection with “ta”.
- ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its past tense form. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese ta form.
From these two parts, we can understand that “aratta” is literally the past tense form of “arau” and means ‘washed’, ‘have washed’, or such in Japanese. Let me explain how to use this form through the example sentence below.
Example #5: how to say “washed” in Japanese
kodomo tachi wa te wo aratta – 子供達は手を洗った (こどもたちはてをあらった)
The children washed their hands.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kodomo – 子供 (こども) : a noun meaning ‘child’ or ‘kid’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.
- tachi – 達 (たち) : a suffix used after a noun or pronoun to make its plural form. In the example, this is used after “kodomo” to make its plural form, “kodomo tachi”, which means ‘children’ in Japanese.
This is a typical usage of “aratta”. When we want to use the past tense form of “arau”, this form is the best option.
Aratte: the te form of “arau”
Below are the definition and meaning of “aratte”.
- aratte – 洗って (あらって) : the te form of “arau”, which means ‘to wash’ in Japanese.
Grammatically, “aratte” consists of the following two parts:
- arat – 洗っ (あらっ) : one conjugation of “arau”. This can have a smooth connection with “te”.
- te – て : a conjunctive particle used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its te form.
From these two parts, we can understand that “aratte” is literally the te form of “arau”. In Japanese, te-formed words have some important roles. One of them is make smooth connections of words. So, “aratte” is very useful when we want to use “arau” in front of another verb, an adjective, or an auxiliary verb. Let me explain this usage through the example sentence below.
Example #6: how to say “please wash” in Japanese
koko de te wo aratte kudasai – ここで手を洗ってください (ここでてをあらってください)
Please wash your hands here.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- koko – ここ : a pronoun used to refer to a place close to the speaker.
- de – で : a case particle used to say where someone does something. In the example, this is used after “koko” to say “here” in Japanese.
- kudasai – ください : one conjugation of the verb, “kudasaru”, which means ‘to give’ or such in Japanese. When this follows a verb, however, this can work like an auxiliary verb to add the meaning of ‘please’ in Japanese. In the example, this works like an auxiliary verb after “aratte” to add the meaning of ‘please’.
This is a typical usage of “aratte”. In the example, it has the smooth connection with “kudasai”. When we want to use “arau” in front of another verb like this, its te form is very useful to make a smooth connection.
Araeba: the ba form of “arau”
Lastly, let me explain the definition and meaning of “araeba”.
- araeba – 洗えば (あらえば) : the ba form of “arau”, which makes a conditional clause in a sentence with meaning ‘to wash’ in Japanese.
Grammatically, “araeba” consists of the following two parts:
- arae – 洗え (あらえ) : one conjugation of “arau”. This can have a smooth connection with “ba”.
- ba – ば : a conjunctive particle used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its ba form.
From these two parts, we can understand that “araeba” is literally the ba form of “arau”. In Japanese, the ba forms of words can work as their conditional forms. So, we can use “araeba” to make a conditional clause in a sentence with adding the meaning of ‘to wash’ in Japanese. Let me explain this usage through the example sentence below.
Example #7: how to say “if wash” in Japanese
koko de te wo araeba, jinja ni haireru – ここで手を洗えば、神社に入れる (ここでてをあらえば、じんじゃにはいれる)
If you wash your hands here, you can enter the shrine.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- jinja – 神社 (じんじゃ) : a noun meaning ‘shrine’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.
- ni – に : a case particle used to say where someone or something goes. In the example, this is used after “jinja” to say where the listener can enter.
- haireru – 入れる (はいれる) : a potential verb meaning ‘can enter’ or such in Japanese.
This is a typical usage of “araeba”. In this example, it works as a part of the conditional clause, “koko de te wo araeba”, which means ‘if you wash your hands here’ in Japanese. When we want to make a conditional clause in a sentence with adding the meaning of ‘to wash’ in Japanese, this ba form is a good option.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meaning of “arau” together with its major conjugations. And also, I’ve explained how to use them through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- arau – 洗う (あらう) : a verb meaning ‘to wash’ in Japanese.
- arawanai – 洗わない (あらわない) : the nai form of “arau”, which means ‘not to wash’ in Japanese.
- araou – 洗おう (あらおう) : the volitional form of “arau”, which expresses volition to wash.
- araimasu – 洗います (あらいます) : the masu form of “arau”, which means ‘to wash’ politely in Japanese.
- aratta – 洗った (あらった) : the ta form of “arau”, which means ‘washed’, ‘have washed’, or such in Japanese.
- aratte – 洗って (あらって) : the te form of “arau”, which means ‘to wash’ in Japanese. When we want to use “arau” in front of another verb, this te form is very useful to make a smooth connection.
- araeba – 洗えば (あらえば) : the ba form of “arau”, which makes a conditional clause in a sentence with meaning ‘to wash’ in Japanese.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
