Housework and laundry
Collocations, Stage 4chunk 2 of 25Home & daily routine
The chores beyond the kitchen: housework as a whole, laundry from the line to the drawer, and vacuuming.
- kaji o surudo the housework
- sentakumono o hosuhang out the laundry
- sentakumono ga kawakuthe laundry dries
- fuku o tatamufold clothes
- soujiki o kakeruvacuum (the floor)
Mix-ups hosu is you hanging the washing out, kawaku is it drying (sentakumono kawaita?), and folding is tatamu, not oru (paper). 'Vacuum' is a verb in English, but Japanese runs the machine with kakeru: soujiki o kakeru, like mezamashi o kakeru.
kaji o suru
polite kaji o shimasudo the housework
家事をする かじをする 家事をします
verbsuru するdo; the general verb for tasks and chorestypical 46% of kaji
Housework as a whole (cooking, cleaning, laundry), mostly in talk about who does what at home: kaji wa futari de yatteru (we both do the housework). Casual speech drops o, and yaru often replaces suru.
kyou wa ichinichi kaji shiteta.
I spent all day on housework.
今日は一日家事してた。
kyou wa ichinichi kaji o shite imashita.
I spent the whole day doing housework.
今日は一日家事をしていました。
Helping with it is kaji o tetsudau; splitting it is kaji o buntan suru.
Same verb: souji (cleaning), sentaku (laundry), ryouri (cooking), ikuji (childcare)Main list: suru (Stage 1), yaru (Stage 1), tetsudau (Stage 2), -teru (Stage 1)
sentakumono o hosu
polite sentakumono o hoshimasuhang out the laundry
洗濯物を干す せんたくものをほす 洗濯物を干します
verbhosu 干すhang out to dry; air in the sun
trap English 'hang' points to kakeru, but laundry put out to dry is hosu. The careful noun is sentakumono (the clothes); casual speech often shortens it to sentaku hosu.
A daily chore in Japan, where most laundry is hung up to dry rather than tumble-dried: out on the balcony, or indoors (heyaboshi) when it rains. sentakumono hoshita? (did you hang the washing out?). Casual speech drops o.
tenki ii kara, sentakumono hosou.
It's sunny, let's hang the washing out.
天気いいから、洗濯物干そう。
kyou wa tenki ga ii node, sentakumono o soto ni hoshimashita.
The weather's nice today, so I hung the laundry outside.
今日は天気がいいので、洗濯物を外に干しました。
Once it's dry (sentakumono ga kawaku: kawaita?), bringing it in is torikomu (sentakumono torikonde!) and folding it is tatamu (fuku o tatamu).
Same verb: futon (futon: air it in the sun), taoru (towels)Learn alongside: sentakumono ga kawaku, fuku o tatamuMain list: kakeru (Stage 4)
sentakumono ga kawaku
polite sentakumono ga kawakimasuthe laundry dries
洗濯物が乾く せんたくものがかわく 洗濯物が乾きます
verbkawaku 乾くbecome dry (laundry, paint, hair)
trap Not sentakumono o kawaku: kawaku is the laundry drying by itself. Hanging it out to dry is sentakumono o hosu; drying something yourself with heat is kawakasu (kami o kawakasu, dry your hair).
Comes up with the weather: sentakumono kawaita? (is the washing dry?), and in the rainy season the complaint sentakumono ga kawakanai. Casual speech drops ga.
kyou wa sentakumono kawakanai ne.
The washing won't dry today.
今日は洗濯物乾かないね。
kyou wa sentakumono ga kawakimasen ne.
The laundry won't dry today, will it?
今日は洗濯物が乾きませんね。
Washing hung indoors on a rainy day is heyaboshi; a tumble dryer is kansouki.
Same verb: kami (hair), penki (paint), taoru (towel)Learn alongside: sentakumono o hosu, fuku o tatamu
fuku o tatamu
polite fuku o tatamimasufold clothes
服を畳む ふくをたたむ 服を畳みます
verbtatamu 畳むfold up; also close (an umbrella), shut down (a shop)typical <1% of fuku
trap Not oru: oru is folding paper (origami) or snapping something (hone o oru). Clothes, futons and umbrellas are tatamu.
Usually once the dry washing has been brought in (sentakumono o torikomu): fuku tatande (fold your clothes), with sentakumono as the object just as often (sentakumono tatanda?). Casual speech drops o.
fuku, chanto tatande yo.
Fold your clothes properly.
服、ちゃんと畳んでよ。
fuku wa chanto tatande kudasai ne.
Please fold your clothes properly.
服はちゃんと畳んでくださいね。
Folded clothes then go away with shimau: tatande shimatte (fold them and put them away).
Same verb: sentakumono (laundry), futon (futon), kasa (umbrella), taoru (towel)Learn alongside: sentakumono o hosu, sentakumono ga kawakuMain list: -te (Stage 2)
soujiki o kakeru
polite soujiki o kakemasuvacuum (the floor)
掃除機をかける そうじきをかける 掃除機をかけます
verbkakeru かけるhang or put something onto something; set a device going
trap English 'vacuum' is a verb, but Japanese runs the machine with kakeru: soujiki (o) kakeru. Casual soujiki suru is also heard, and soujiki o tsukau (use the vacuum) is fine but less usual.
The everyday way to say 'vacuum': soujiki kakeru kara chotto doite (I'm vacuuming, move a sec). Casual speech drops o; souji suru (clean) covers it along with the rest of the cleaning.
ato de soujiki kaketoku ne.
I'll vacuum later.
あとで掃除機かけとくね。
ato de soujiki o kakete okimasu ne.
I'll do the vacuuming later.
あとで掃除機をかけておきますね。
The same kakeru irons a shirt (airon o kakeru) and sets an alarm (mezamashi o kakeru).
Same verb: airon (iron), doraiyaa (hairdryer)Learn alongside: kagi o kakeru, kagi ga kakaru, mezamashi o kakeruMain list: kakeru (Stage 4), -toku (Stage 1)