ぬぐい去る
Conjugation
| Affirmative | Negative | |
|---|---|---|
| Present | ぬぐい去る | ぬぐい去らない |
| Present polite | ぬぐい去ります | ぬぐい去りません |
| Past | ぬぐい去った | ぬぐい去らなかった |
| Past polite | ぬぐい去りました | ぬぐい去りませんでした |
| て form | ぬぐい去って | ぬぐい去らなくて |
| ている present | ぬぐい去っている | ぬぐい去っていない |
| ている polite | ぬぐい去っています | ぬぐい去っていません |
| ている past | ぬぐい去っていた | ぬぐい去っていなかった |
| ている past polite | ぬぐい去っていました | ぬぐい去っていませんでした |
| Conditional ば | ぬぐい去れば | ぬぐい去らなければ |
| Conditional たら | ぬぐい去ったら | ぬぐい去らなかったら |
| Volitional | ぬぐい去ろう | — |
| Volitional polite | ぬぐい去りましょう | — |
| Potential | ぬぐい去れる | ぬぐい去れない |
| Passive | ぬぐい去られる | ぬぐい去られない |
| Causative | ぬぐい去らせる | ぬぐい去らせない |
| Imperative | ぬぐい去れ | ぬぐい去るな |
A compound verb formed from ぬぐう ('to wipe') + 去る ('to leave, to go away'). The 去る element acts as an intensifier and adds the nuance 'completely, leaving nothing behind'. The same pattern appears in other compound verbs such as 消し去る ('to erase completely') and 忘れ去る ('to forget completely').
Transitivity
Transitive (godan-ru verb). The thing wiped away is marked with を: AがBをぬぐい去る ('A wipes B away').
Usage
The figurative sense (dispelling an emotion, doubt, or impression) is far more common in writing and formal speech than the literal sense. In everyday spoken Japanese, simple ぬぐう or 拭く is preferred for actually wiping a surface.
The verb is particularly common in negative contexts: 〜をぬぐい去ることができない ('cannot be dispelled'), 〜は完全にはぬぐい去れない ('cannot be completely dispelled'). This use highlights an emotion or impression that lingers despite efforts to remove it.
Common collocations
- 涙をぬぐい去る: to wipe away one's tears
- 汗をぬぐい去る: to wipe away sweat
- 不安をぬぐい去る: to dispel anxiety
- 疑いをぬぐい去る: to dispel doubts
- 印象をぬぐい去る: to remove an impression (e.g. a bad first impression)
- 汚名をぬぐい去る: to clear one's name; to remove a stain on one's reputation
- 過去をぬぐい去る: to erase the past
- 悲しみをぬぐい去る: to dispel sadness
- 不信感をぬぐい去る: to dispel feelings of distrust
Similar words
- ぬぐう: to wipe — the simple base verb; refers just to the physical action of wiping, without the 'completely gone' nuance.
- 拭く: to wipe — the most common everyday verb for wiping; written ふく.
- 消し去る: to erase, to wipe out completely — close in nuance, but emphasizes erasing rather than wiping; often used for memories, evidence, or the past.
- 払い去る: to brush away, to dispel — used for lighter, brushing motions and similarly figurative for clearing away worry or fear.
- 取り除く: to remove, to take away — neutral; the most general word for removing something.
Register
Formal to slightly literary. Common in news commentary, essays, novels, and political speech. In casual conversation, simpler verbs (拭く, ぬぐう, 消える) are preferred.