1.
to make public; to reveal; to bring out into the open
To reveal something that was hidden, private, or internal. Used for information, feelings, or matters that are brought to public attention.
感情を表に出さない人だ。
He's the kind of person who doesn't show his emotions.
この問題を表に出すべきかどうか迷っている。
I'm unsure whether to bring this problem out into the open.
社内の不正が表に出されたことで、大きなスキャンダルになった。
The internal fraud being brought to light turned into a major scandal.
2.
to bring outside; to put out front
To physically move something from inside to outside or to the front. Literal usage.
看板を表に出してきて。
Go put the sign out front.
天気がいいから、植木を表に出そう。
The weather is nice, so let's put the potted plants outside.
開店前に商品のサンプルを表に出しておいてください。
Please put the product samples out front before the store opens.
Expression combining 表 (the outside; the surface; the public side) + に + 出す (to put out). The figurative sense (sense 1) is more common than the literal sense in adult conversation.
The intransitive counterpart is 表に出る (to come to the surface; to become public).
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 感情を表に出す: to show one's emotions
- 不満を表に出す: to express dissatisfaction openly
- 本音を表に出す: to reveal one's true feelings
- 問題を表に出す: to bring a problem into the open
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 明るみに出す: to expose; to bring to light — stronger, implies exposing wrongdoing
- 表明する: to express; to declare — formal, deliberate public statement
- 公にする: to make public — specifically about making information officially public