消す
けす
hepburn kesu
to turn off, to erase
Part of speech · godan-verb
Pattern visualization
no decomposition available
Examples
- 電気を消してください。Please turn off the light.
- 黒板の字を消しました。I erased the writing on the blackboard.
Collocations
消す (kesu, turn off / erase / extinguish)消える (kieru, disappear — intransitive pair)消防 (shoubou, firefighting)消しゴム (keshigomu, eraser)消費 (shouhi, consumption)
Mnemonic
けす — 消す, Yamato. A godan -su verb. Transitive. The kanji 消 is 氵 (water) + 肖 (to resemble, to dwindle) ── a shape fading away on contact with water. The exact opposite of つける (to attach) ── 電気をつける ↔ 電気を消す. One verb holds what other languages split ── 電気を消す: turn off the light. 字を消す: erase writing. 火を消す: extinguish a fire. What English splits into 'turn off / erase / extinguish', Japanese gathers under 消す. The intransitive pair is 消える kieru ── 電気が消える (the light goes out). 消す / 消える is one pair. In the onyomi しょう shou ── 消防 shoubou (firefighting), 消費 shouhi (consumption). Sister to the Korean reading so.
Quick check
One Japanese verb for "turn off (lights) / erase (writing) / extinguish (fire)"?