放します（はなします、hanashimasu）
- to release

The Japanese word 放します (読: はなします, romaji: hanashimasu) primarily means "to release," "to let go," "to set free," "to let out," or "to emit." It conveys the action of allowing something to be free from restraint or containment, or the act of giving off or producing something. The specific nuance depends on the context. 放します can refer to releasing a physical object, allowing an animal to go free, or even the emission of something like a smell or a sound.

⚫︎鳥を 放します Translation: I release the bird. ⚫︎犬を 放します Translation: I let the dog go. ⚫︎ガスを 放します Translation: It releases gas.

⚫︎This word is used in various contexts where something is being freed or let out. ⚫︎It's common in situations involving animals, such as releasing a bird from a cage or letting a dog run free. ⚫︎It can describe allowing something intangible to be released, like a smell or a sound. ⚫︎It's a polite form of the verb. The plain form is 放す (hanasu).

⚫︎The word is typically written with the kanji 放 and the hiragana します. ⚫︎The kanji 放 has multiple meanings related to releasing, letting go, or emitting. ⚫︎The okurigana (the hiragana following the kanji) is usually します in its polite form.

⚫︎解き放つ (tokihanatsu) - to liberate, to set free (stronger sense of freedom) ⚫︎解放する (kaihousuru) - to liberate, to release (formal and used in more abstract contexts) ⚫︎出す (dasu) - to take out, to put out, to emit (more general and versatile; the choice depends on context)

⚫︎捕まえる (tsukamaeru) - to catch, to capture ⚫︎入れる (ireru) - to put in, to insert ⚫︎しまう (shimau) - to put away, to store

動物園でライオンを自然に 放します ・Translation: They release the lion into nature at the zoo. ・Explanation: This sentence uses 放します to describe the action of releasing the lion from confinement.

彼は秘密を 放しました ・Translation: He let out the secret. ・Explanation: In this case, 放しました (past tense of 放します) signifies revealing the secret.

The kanji 放 is composed of the radical 方 (hō, "direction") and 攵, which represents a hand or something held in the hand. The origin of 放 is thought to be a combination of "to take something in a certain direction" or "to send out." The verb 放す (hanasu), of which 放します is a conjugation, carries the fundamental meaning of releasing or letting go.