冷やします（ひやします、hiyashimasu）
- to chill (transitive)

The Japanese verb 冷やします (ひやします, *hiyashimasu*) means "to cool," "to chill," or "to refrigerate" something. It implies bringing the temperature of an object or substance down, typically to make it colder. This can apply to various things, such as food, drinks, a room, or even a person's body (though less commonly). The action is about actively making something cool. The meaning of 冷やします can be subtly different depending on the context, but the core idea of cooling something down remains consistent.

⚫︎ジュースを冷やします。 Translation: I will cool the juice. ⚫︎部屋を冷やしてください。 Translation: Please cool the room. ⚫︎お酒を冷蔵庫で冷やします。 Translation: I'll chill the sake in the refrigerator.

⚫︎You would use 冷やします in situations where you want to describe the action of cooling something. ⚫︎It’s suitable when you are speaking in a polite or formal setting. ⚫︎For casual conversations, you can also use it, but there might be other, more casual ways of saying the same thing (see synonyms). ⚫︎When giving instructions or making requests, you’ll often find this verb used in its -te form (冷やして, *hiyashite*) or imperative form.

⚫︎The verb 冷やします is written in kanji as 冷やします, but it’s often written in hiragana as ひやします, especially for learners. ⚫︎The base form is 冷やす (*hiyasu*). ⚫︎The polite form, as seen, is 冷やします(*hiyashimasu*). ⚫︎The okurigana (the hiragana following the kanji) is always します.

⚫︎冷やす (*hiyasu*): The plain form of 冷やします, meaning "to cool." ⚫︎冷ます (*samasu*): Means "to cool down" or "to let cool" something that is hot (e.g., food that has been cooked). This implies bringing something down from a hot temperature. ⚫︎冷える (*hieru*): This is an intransitive verb meaning "to become cold" or "to get chilled." It describes a state of being cold, not the action of cooling something. ⚫︎冷房 (*reibou*): Air conditioning; usually used as a noun, but can be expressed with a verb to cool a room. ⚫︎涼しくする (*suzushiku suru*): "To make something cool"; This means to make the temperature cool.

⚫︎温めます (*atatamesu*): "To warm up" or "to heat up." ⚫︎熱くする (*atsuku suru*): "To make something hot" or "to heat something up." ⚫︎温める (*atameru*): "To heat," the plain form of 温めます.

暑いから、飲み物を冷蔵庫で冷やします。 ・Translation: Because it's hot, I'll chill the drinks in the refrigerator. ・Explanation: This sentence describes the action of putting drinks in the refrigerator to cool them down because it is hot outside.

ケーキを食べる前に、冷蔵庫で冷やしてください。 ・Translation: Please chill the cake in the refrigerator before eating it. ・Explanation: This sentence uses the -te form to politely request someone to cool the cake.

The verb 冷やす is composed of the kanji 冷 (*rei* or *hiya*), meaning "cold," "cool," or "chilled," and the verb suffix す (*su*), which turns the adjective into a verb, indicating the action of making something cold. The meaning derives directly from the kanji 冷.