Explore 汚 in everyday stains and environmental pollution. Learn each reading as part of a word.
The idea
汚 has 6 strokes; follow the linked diagram. 汚い is きたない, 汚れる is よごれる, 汚す is よごす, and 汚染 is おせん.
Examples
- この靴は汚いです。These shoes are dirty.
- 雨で服が汚れました。My clothes got dirty in the rain.
- ペンキでテーブルを汚しました。I got the table dirty with paint.
- 川を汚染から守らなければなりません。We must protect the river from pollution.
- 汚い手を洗ってください。Please wash your dirty hands.
- この部屋の壁は汚れやすいです。The walls of this room are easily dirtied.
Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.
No Japanese device voice is available. You can still read the text and use the linked listening resources.
Watch out
汚れる is intransitive: 服が汚れる means clothes get dirty. 汚す is transitive: テーブルを汚す means someone dirties the table.
Try it yourself
Write the reading of 汚い in hiragana.
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きたない
汚い is きたない: it describes something dirty, as in 汚い靴.
Write the reading of 汚染 in hiragana.
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おせん
汚染 is おせん, a noun meaning pollution or contamination.
Choose the verb: 服が＿ました (got dirty) ［汚れ／汚し］.
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汚れ
汚れ completes 汚れました. The clothes became dirty, so the intransitive verb with が fits.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Japanese sentences where available. We keep your score.
Write the reading of 汚い in hiragana.
Write the reading of 汚染 in hiragana.
Choose the verb: 服が＿ました (got dirty) ［汚れ／汚し］.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
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Write 汚 using the diagram, then describe something that got dirty and something you dirtied.