洗剤（せんざい、senzai）
- detergent

The Japanese word 洗剤 （せんざい） refers to "detergent" or "cleanser." It's a general term encompassing various cleaning agents used for washing clothes, dishes, surfaces, etc. It works by removing dirt, stains, and other unwanted substances from objects. It is often used in combination with water.

⚫︎洗濯用洗剤 Translation: Laundry detergent ⚫︎食器用洗剤 Translation: Dish soap ⚫︎台所用洗剤 Translation: Kitchen cleaner

You use 洗剤 when you're talking about detergents in general, or when you want to specify a particular type of detergent. ⚫︎You can use it in a shop to buy cleaning products. ⚫︎You can ask someone what type of cleaner they used, for example.

洗剤 is typically written using the kanji 洗 (sen - wash, clean) and 剤 (zai - agent, medicine). The reading is せんざい in hiragana. There are no other common ways to write this word. The okurigana is standard, with no variations.

There aren't many direct synonyms for 洗剤 that are as general. However, depending on the specific type of cleanser, you might use: ⚫︎石鹸 (sekken) - soap ⚫︎クレンザー (kurenzā) - cleanser (loanword) ⚫︎漂白剤 (hyōhakuzai) - bleach

There is no exact antonym for 洗剤. However, the opposite action, the "dirty" state, could be referred to by words like: ⚫︎汚れ (yogore) - dirt, stain ⚫︎埃 (hokori) - dust

この洗濯洗剤は、頑固な汚れもよく落ちます。 ・Translation: This laundry detergent removes even stubborn stains well. ・Explanation: This sentence uses 洗剤 to describe a laundry detergent and its effectiveness.

食器を洗うために新しい食器洗剤を買いました。 ・Translation: I bought a new dish soap to wash the dishes. ・Explanation: This sentence explains that the speaker purchased dish soap.

The word 洗剤 is a compound word. 洗 comes from the verb 洗う (arau), which means "to wash" or "to clean." 剤 means "agent" or "ingredient." Therefore, 洗剤 literally means "washing agent."