How to Say "Ash" in Japanese - How To Say Guide

灰

hai[ha̠i]

The English word "ash" is 灰 (hai) in Japanese.

The term 灰 (hai) is used for both the residue of a fire and the residue of a cigarette.

Meaning: solid remains of a fire (noun)

How do you pronounce it?

hai

The word 灰 (hai) is a homophone for the word はい (hai), which means 'yes'. This can lead to humorous confusion in spoken Japanese depending on the context.
In Japanese cuisine, certain types of wood ash 灰 (hai) were historically used in the process of curing foods or treating traditional alkaline water.
The reading hai can also be found in certain Buddhist terminology when referring to the transience of life and the physical remains of the deceased.

酸性土を灰で中和する。
Acid soil is neutralised by ash.
This sentence shows how ash can be used to neutralize acidic soil.
Tatoeba #76111 by kamojun, translation #327607 by sundown
車の窓から煙草の灰を落とす行為はいけないでしょう。
Surely one shouldn't knock ash from your cigarette out the car window.
This sentence describes the improper action of knocking cigarette ash from a car window.
Tatoeba #629115 by blay_paul, translation #629117 by blay_paul
2010年のデンマークの今年の言葉は、「火山灰の雲」、「デンマークの周辺」、「ブブゼラ」、そして、「ウィキリークス」です。
The words of the year 2010 in Denmark are "ash cloud", "Peripheral Denmark", "vuvuzela" and "WikiLeaks".
This sentence mentions the term "ash cloud" in a list of words from 2010.
Tatoeba #2458743 by saturo, translation #668931 by danepo
研究室では、科学者たちは灰の成分を分析しました。
In the laboratory, the scientists analyzed the composition of ash.

Ren and Misaki are cleaning up after a campfire.

蓮 Ren

灰が風で舞っているよ。
Hai ga kaze de matte iru yo.
The ash is dancing in the wind.
美咲 Misaki

本当だ。もっと早く片付けよう。
Hontou da. Motto hayaku katazukeyou.
You're right. Let's clean it up faster.
蓮 Ren

美咲、この灰を捨てるのを手伝ってくれる？
Misaki, kono hai o suteru no o tetsudatte kureru?
Misaki, can you help me throw away this ash?
美咲 Misaki

いいよ、袋を持ってくるね。
Ii yo, fukuro o motte kuru ne.
Sure, I'll go get a bag.

Sources

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