1.
to expose; to leave out in the open
To expose something to natural elements like sun, wind, or rain.
布団を日に晒す。
To air out the futon in the sun.
洗った米を風に晒して乾かした。
I dried the washed rice by exposing it to the wind.
木材を雨や日光に長い間晒しておくと、色が変わってしまう。
If you leave lumber exposed to rain and sunlight for a long time, its color will change.
2.
to bleach; to whiten
To whiten fabric by exposing it to sunlight or using bleaching agents.
布を日に晒す。
To bleach cloth in the sun.
麻の糸を川の水で晒して白くした。
I whitened the linen thread by bleaching it in river water.
昔の人は太陽の光を利用して布を晒していたが、今では化学薬品を使うことが多い。
People in the old days bleached cloth using sunlight, but nowadays chemical agents are more commonly used.
3.
to expose to danger/ridicule; to make public
To put oneself or something at risk, or to make something publicly known.
危険に身を晒す。
To expose oneself to danger.
恥を晒すことになった。
I ended up making a fool of myself.
彼は不正の証拠をネットに晒して、会社の秘密を世間に知らしめた。
He posted evidence of fraud online and made the company's secrets known to the public.
晒す is a transitive verb (他動詞). The intransitive/passive form is 晒される.
ASPECT ({ている}):
晒している indicates an ongoing state of exposure.
COMMON PATTERNS:
- 日/風に晒す - to expose to sun/wind
- 身を晒す - to expose oneself (to danger)
- 恥を晒す - to disgrace oneself, to make a fool of oneself
- 個人情報を晒す - to expose personal information (often online)
INTERNET USAGE:
In modern usage, 晒す is commonly used to mean exposing or posting someone's private information online, often with malicious intent.
RELATED KANJI:
曝す is an alternative kanji, sometimes used specifically for "exposing to elements."