Translation guide
To squeeze liquid out of something by twisting or pressing it. This guide covers the main Japanese verbs and phrases for wringing out cloth, clothes, towels, and similar items.
Express the action of twisting or squeezing a wet cloth, towel, or piece of clothing to remove water.
The most common and general verb for wringing out liquid from something by twisting or squeezing. Used for towels, clothes, mops, etc.
タオルを絞って干した。
I wrung out the towel and hung it up.
洗濯物をよく絞ってから干してください。
Please wring out the laundry well before hanging it up.
Often used interchangeably with 絞る, but can imply pressing or squeezing out liquid more forcefully, like wringing out a cloth by pressing. Less common in daily use.
雑巾を搾って床を拭いた。
I wrung out the rag and wiped the floor.
Literally 'cut off the moisture'. Used when you want to remove excess water, often by shaking or lightly squeezing, not necessarily by twisting hard.
野菜の水気を切ってから炒める。
Drain the vegetables (remove excess water) before stir-frying.
Specifically means 'wring out tightly'. Used when you want to emphasize a strong twisting action.
タオルを固く絞って水を出した。
I wrung out the towel tightly to get the water out.
Focus on removing water from an object by twisting or squeezing.
Pattern: [object]の水を絞る. Used when you want to specify that you are wringing the water out of something.
雑巾の水を絞ってください。
Please wring the water out of the rag.
Means to drain or shake off water. Not as strong as wringing, but often used for similar situations like after washing vegetables or lightly wet items.
洗ったレタスの水を切る。
Shake the water off the washed lettuce.
Specifically for wringing out cleaning tools like mops or rags.
Same verb as above, perfectly natural for mops and rags.
モップを絞ってから拭いてください。
Please wring out the mop before wiping.
Emphasizes wringing tightly, often used for rags when you want them damp, not soaking.
雑巾は固く絞って使ってください。
Please wring out the rag tightly before using it.
Metaphorical use similar to English 'wring out' meaning to extract something with effort, like a confession, money, or information.
Literally 'squeeze out'. Used figuratively for forcing out words, money, ideas, etc.
彼はやっとの思いで言葉を絞り出した。
He finally managed to wring out the words.
知恵を絞り出して問題を解決した。
We wrung out our wisdom and solved the problem.
Means to squeeze out or exploit, often used for extracting money or labor from someone.
The English phrase 'ring out' (to sound loudly) is completely different. Do not use 絞る for that meaning. Use 鳴り響く (なりひびく) instead.
絞る is a transitive verb, so it takes an object marked by を. The thing being wrung out is the object, and the liquid is often marked with を as well in the pattern 〜の水を絞る.
彼らは農民から税金を搾り取った。
They wrung out taxes from the farmers.