1.
cleaning, sweeping
The act of making a place clean and tidy.
部屋を掃除してください。
Please clean the room.
毎週土曜日に掃除をします。
I clean every Saturday.
大掃除は年末にします。
We do a big cleaning at the end of the year.
掃除機をかけてから床を拭いた。
I vacuumed and then wiped the floor.
学校では毎日昼休みのあとに掃除の時間がある。
At school, there's cleaning time after lunch break every day.
掃除 refers to cleaning a space by sweeping, wiping, vacuuming, or tidying up. It covers general cleaning rather than specialized tasks like laundry or dishwashing.
COMMON PATTERNS:
- 掃除する / 掃除をする: to clean
- 掃除機をかける: to vacuum
- 掃除が行き届いている: well-maintained, kept clean
TYPES OF CLEANING:
- 大掃除: major year-end cleaning (a Japanese tradition before the New Year)
- 部屋の掃除: room cleaning
- トイレ掃除: toilet cleaning
- 掃除当番: cleaning duty (common in schools and workplaces)
CULTURAL NOTE:
In Japanese schools, students clean their own classrooms and common areas daily (掃除の時間). 大掃除 in late December is a widespread tradition of thoroughly cleaning the home before the New Year.