洗い流す
解説 Definition
水の流れで何かを完全に取り除いて流してしまう、または心のしこりを消すときの比喩的な使い方もある。自然災害の場面では土やゴミを押し流す動作を表し、日常会話では悲しみなどを流す意味でも使われる。
This phrasal verb means to remove or carry something away with water. It can be used for physical things, and sometimes for feelings or memories that seem to disappear completely.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
wash away は、wash「洗う」に away「離れて消える」が加わり、水で汚れや跡をすっかり取り除く感覚になります。mud was washed away なら泥が流れてなくなり、tears washed away sadness なら涙で悲しみが薄れる比喩になります。洪水で物を運び去るほど強い場面にも使えますが、この「洗い流す」では、表面の汚れや心のしこりが水の動きで消えるイメージを中心に覚えると使いやすいです。
Away adds the idea of something being carried off and gone. So wash away is stronger than just cleaning a surface: water removes it completely. It can describe mud, marks, or even sadness in a figurative way. Compare it with wash off, which usually focuses on removing something from the outside.
例文
The river washed away the bridge after three days of nonstop rain.
三日間雨が降り続いた後、川が橋を洗い流してしまった。
Talking to friends helped wash away the stress she had been carrying.
友達と話すことで、彼女が抱えていたストレスを洗い流す助けになった。
押し流す
(意味 2)解説 Definition
wash away は、水や波、洪水などの強い流れで物をその場から流してしまうことを表す。汚れを落とす意味ではなく、土砂や橋、家などが流失したり、勢いよく運び去られたりする文脈でよく使う。
Wash away means to carry something off with a strong flow of water, waves, or floodwater. It is used when things like soil, roads, bridges, or houses are swept from their place, not when you simply remove dirt from a surface. It can also be used in a figurative way for making feelings, memories, or signs disappear completely.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
wash「洗う」に away「向こうへ・消えていく」を重ねると、「洗ってきれいにする」より「水の勢いで完全に持ち去る」感覚になる。wash off が表面の汚れを落とす感じなのに対し、wash away は土砂・橋・跡・悲しみまで流し去るほど強い。The flood washed away the road. や wash away your fears の形で覚えると、物理にも比喩にも使える。wipe away は手で拭う動作なので区別すると定着しやすい。
Think of wash plus away: not just cleaning something, but sending it off and making it disappear. Wash off usually removes dirt from a surface, but wash away is stronger and suggests water carrying off soil, roads, marks, or even sadness. Remember it with phrases like The flood washed away the bridge or wash away your fears. Wipe away is different because it means removing something by hand.
例文
The heavy rain washed away part of the road.
大雨で道路の一部が押し流された。
Years of floods have washed away the rich soil along the river.
長年の洪水で川沿いの肥えた土が押し流されてしまった。
She went to the beach to let the sound of the waves wash away her worries.
彼女は波の音に不安を押し流してもらうために海へ行った。
押し流す
(意味 3)解説 Definition
wash away は、水や波、洪水などの強い流れで物をその場から流してしまうことを表す。汚れを落とす意味ではなく、土砂や橋、家などが流失したり、勢いよく運び去られたりする文脈でよく使う。
Wash away means to carry something off with a strong flow of water, waves, or flooding. It is used when soil, roads, bridges, houses, or other things are swept from their place, not when you simply remove dirt from a surface. It can also be used in a figurative way for feelings, fears, or memories that seem to disappear completely.
例文
The heavy rain washed away part of the road.
激しい雨で道路の一部が押し流された。
Several small houses were washed away by the flood during the night.
夜の洪水で数軒の小さな家が押し流された。
She listened to music to wash away her fear before the interview.
彼女は面接前の不安を押し流すように音楽を聴いた。
wash away の語源・成り立ち Etymology
wash away は古英語由来の wash「洗う」と、aweg 由来の away「向こうへ・取り去って」から成る句動詞です。つまり「洗う」より強く、水で何かを運び去る感覚が核で、汚れも土砂も比喩的な悲しみも「洗い流す」と言えます。関連語は washable, whitewash。
Wash comes from Old English, and away comes from an older form meaning off or toward another place. Together, wash away gives the strong image of water not only cleaning something but carrying it off. Because of that, the phrase came to mean remove completely by water, and later also remove feelings or memories in a figurative way. Related words include washable and whitewash.
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