godan verb (-su), transitive verb
Used for removing writing, marks, data, or entries. The object is what is erased or deleted, marked with を.
黒板の字を消してください。
Please erase the writing on the blackboard.
間違えて大事なファイルを消
I accidentally deleted an important file.
godan verb (-su), transitive verb
Used for turning off lights, televisions, heaters, and similar devices or appliances.
寝る前に電気を消した。
I turned off the light before going to bed.
見ていないならテレビを消して。
If you are not watching it, turn off the TV.
godan verb (-su), transitive verb
Used for making fire, a flame, or something burning go out.
彼女はろうそくの火を消した。
She put out the candle flame.
消防士が火を消している。
The firefighters are putting out the fire.
godan verb (-su), transitive verb
remove; get rid of; relieve; neutralize
Used for eliminating an unwanted condition or effect, such as a smell, pain, anxiety, or poison. It implies making the effect disappear rather than physically moving an object.
換気して部屋のにおいを消した。
I aired out the room and got rid of the smell.
この薬は痛みを消してくれる。
This medicine relieves the pain.
godan verb (-su), transitive verb
drown out; muffle; deaden
Used when one sound or material makes another sound hard to hear, softer, or effectively absent.
雨の音が彼の声を消した。
The sound of the rain drowned out his voice.
厚いカーテンが外の音を消している。
The thick curtains are muffling the noise from outside.
godan verb (-su), transitive verb
Colloquial and often crime-fiction or underworld-sounding use meaning to make a person disappear by killing them. It is much rougher and less neutral than 殺す.
犯人は口封じのために目撃者を消した。
The criminal killed the witness to silence them.