沸きます（わきます、wakimasu）
- to boil

The Japanese verb 沸きます (read as わきます, *wakimasu*) primarily means "to boil" or "to come to a boil." It describes the process where a liquid heats up and reaches its boiling point, turning into vapor. It can also figuratively mean "to become excited," "to get enthusiastic," or "to bubble up" in a figurative sense, like emotions or ideas. The subject of 沸きます is typically water or another liquid, but it can also be used in metaphorical contexts, like describing a person's emotions. The verb implies a change in state, from a lower temperature or calmness to a higher temperature or state of excitement. The basic meaning of this word is the action of boiling or coming to a boil.

⚫︎ お湯が沸きます。 Translation: The water boils. ⚫︎ コーヒーを沸かします。 Translation: I will boil coffee. (Note: 沸かす (wakasu) is the causative form of 沸く, meaning "to make something boil.") ⚫︎ 試合を見て、観客は沸きました。 Translation: Watching the match, the audience got excited.

⚫︎ 沸きます is used when describing a liquid reaching its boiling point, like water in a kettle or a pot on the stove. ⚫︎ In a metaphorical sense, it's used to express excitement, enthusiasm, or a sudden surge of something. ⚫︎ It can be used in the -masu form (沸きます) for present and future tense, in the past tense (沸きました, *wakimashita*) to describe something that has already boiled or an emotion that has been felt, and in other conjugated forms to express different tenses, politeness levels, and moods.

⚫︎ The base form is 沸く (waku). ⚫︎ The polite form is 沸きます (wakimasu). ⚫︎ It is written with the kanji 沸 (meaning "to boil" or "to bubble") and the hiragana く (ku) or the verb stem is わ (wa). ⚫︎ The okurigana is く (ku) as in 沸く, 沸かす is often written as 沸かす and 沸きます is typically written as 沸きます.

⚫︎ 煮える (nieru): to boil, to be cooked (often used for food) ⚫︎ 沸騰する (futtou suru): to boil (more formal) ⚫︎ 熱くなる (atsuku naru): to get hot ⚫︎ 興奮する (koufun suru): to get excited (for the metaphorical meaning)

⚫︎ 冷める (sameru): to cool down ⚫︎ 冷やす (hiyasu): to cool something down ⚫︎ 沈静化する (chinchika suru): to calm down (for metaphorical meaning)

お風呂の湯が沸きました。 ・Translation: The bathwater has boiled. ・Explanation: This sentence describes the bathwater reaching the desired temperature for a bath.

彼はその知らせを聞いて、気持ちが沸きました。 ・Translation: He became excited upon hearing that news. ・Explanation: This sentence uses 沸く figuratively to show that he got excited or his feelings became agitated upon receiving information.

The etymology of 沸く can be traced to the meaning of a liquid undergoing a phase change from liquid to gas by the generation of heat. The kanji 沸 combines the water radical 氵 with the phonetic component 弗, which contributes to the sound. The original meaning relates to the bubbling and agitation that occurs when a liquid starts to boil. The verb then expanded to include the figurative meaning of excitement or enthusiasm.