Washing and grooming
Collocations, Stage 1chunk 12 of 22Body & health
Looking after your body day to day: washing your hands, face and hair, and cutting your hair and nails.
- te o arauwash your hands
- kao o arauwash your face
- kami o arauwash your hair
- kami o kiruget a haircut
- tsume o kirucut your nails
Mix-ups arau covers every kind of washing, from hands to hair, so there's no separate shampoo verb. The kiru in kami o kiru and tsume o kiru means cut (kitta), not wear (fuku o kiru, kita), and kami kitta is said even when a stylist cut it.
te o arau
polite te o araimasuwash your hands
手を洗う てをあらう 手を洗います
verbarau 洗うwash with water (hands, dishes, a car)typical <1% of te
Said every day, before meals and on coming in: te aratte kite (go wash your hands), te aratta? O often drops in these reminders.
gohan da yo. te aratte kite.
Dinner's ready. Go wash your hands.
ごはんだよ。手洗ってきて。
gohan desu yo. te o aratte kite kudasai.
The meal's ready. Please go and wash your hands.
ごはんですよ。手を洗ってきてください。
Only literal. Ashi o arau (wash your feet) is the idiom for quitting a shady line of work; pulling out of a deal or matter is te o hiku.
Same verb: sara (dishes), kuruma (car), kao (face)Learn alongside: kao o arau, kami o arauMain list: -te kuru (Stage 4)
kao o arau
polite kao o araimasuwash your face
顔を洗う かおをあらう 顔を洗います
verbarau 洗うwash with water (hands, dishes, a car)typical <1% of kao
Part of the morning routine, and the way to wake yourself up: kao aratte kuru (I'll go wash my face). O often drops in casual talk.
nemui kara, kao aratte kuru.
I'm sleepy, so I'll go wash my face.
眠いから、顔洗ってくる。
nemui node, kao o aratte kimasu.
I'm sleepy, so I'll go and wash my face.
眠いので、顔を洗ってきます。
Kao aratte denaoshite koi (go wash your face and come back) is a rough, stock brush-off for someone not ready.
Same verb: te (hands), kami (hair), karada (body)Learn alongside: te o arau, kami o arauMain list: -te kuru (Stage 4)
kami o arau
polite kami o araimasuwash your hair
髪を洗う かみをあらう 髪を洗います
verbarau 洗うwash with water (hands, dishes, a car)typical 3% of kami
Talk of the bath or shower routine: kami aratte kara neru, or kami arau no mendokusai (washing my hair is a pain). At home people say atama arau just as often (atama aratta?, especially to kids). O drops in casual speech.
kami aratte kara neru.
I'll wash my hair, then go to bed.
髪洗ってから寝る。
kami o aratte kara nemasu.
I'll wash my hair before I go to bed.
髪を洗ってから寝ます。
Drying it afterwards is kami o kawakasu (kami kawakashite). Shanpuu suru is also everyday (shanpuu shite kara neru).
Same verb: te (hands), kao (face), karada (body)Learn alongside: te o arau, kao o arauMain list: -te kara (Stage 4)
kami o kiru
polite kami o kirimasuget a haircut
髪を切る かみをきる 髪を切ります
verbkiru 切るkiru: cut (with a blade or scissors)typical 11% of kami
trap English 'get a haircut' suggests kitte morau or the dictionary word sanpatsu suru (old-fashioned). Kitte morau works, but natives just say kami kitta (or katto shita), even when a stylist did it.
Mostly heard in the past tense with o dropped: kami kitta? (did you get a haircut?), a stock small-talk line. For the salon trip itself, say kami kiri ni iku (go get a haircut).
are, kami kitta?
Oh, did you get a haircut?
あれ、髪切った？
are, kami kirimashita?
Oh, did you get your hair cut?
あれ、髪切りました？
Don't mix it up with kiru 'wear' (fuku o kiru): cut is kitta / kirimasu, wear is kita / kimasu. By ear, cut drops after ki (KI-tta) and wear is flat (kita). Kami (hair) sounds the same as kami 'paper' (10-list-nouns #14), so kami o kiru can also mean cut paper. Context decides, and kami no ke makes 'hair' explicit.
Same verb: maegami (bangs), yasai (vegetables)Learn alongside: tsume o kiruMain list: morau (Stage 2)
tsume o kiru
polite tsume o kirimasucut your nails
爪を切る つめをきる 爪を切ります
verbkiru 切るcut (with a blade or scissors)typical 6% of tsume
Said as a reminder or a chore: tsume kitte (cut your nails), tsume kiranakya. O often drops; the clippers are tsumekiri.
sorosoro tsume kiranakya.
It's about time I cut my nails.
そろそろ爪切らなきゃ。
sorosoro tsume o kiranai to ikemasen ne.
It's about time I cut my nails.
そろそろ爪を切らないといけませんね。
Many people still know the superstition against cutting your nails at night (yoru tsume o kiru to...).
Same verb: kami (hair), maegami (bangs)Learn alongside: kami o kiruMain list: -nakya (Stage 3), sorosoro (Stage 2)