How do you say "dry" in Japanese?

Name: Two Weeks In and Everything You Own Is Damp. The Machine Only Speaks Kanji.
Uploaded: 2026-08-28T14:06:24Z
Duration: 52 s
Description: Learn to say 乾燥 (kansou) — dry. A 30-second Japanese lesson for travelers from Kōfuku.

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Two Weeks In and Everything You Own Is Damp. The Machine Only Speaks Kanji.

To say dry in Japanese, say 乾燥 (kansou).

Hotel basement, eleven at night, a wall of buttons in kanji, and a bag of clothes that has to be dry by morning.

乾燥 kansou dry

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In this video

洗濯、乾燥。 sentaku, kansou. Wash, dry.
乾燥機はありますか。 kansouki wa arimasu ka. Is there a dryer?

Kanji in this phrase

乾燥機: かんそうき
乾燥: かんそう
洗濯: せんたく

Why this phrase

Coin laundries and hotel laundry rooms label their cycles in kanji: 洗濯 is wash, 乾燥 is dry, and the combined course, written 洗濯乾燥 or 洗濯～乾燥, does both in one run. Press the wrong one and you lose an hour and get your clothes back wet. 乾燥 is the one worth memorising before a long trip.