Meaning and Usage
The verb 覚ます (さます) primarily means "to awaken" or "to wake someone up." It is often used when someone causes another person or themselves to become awake or alert. It can refer to physically waking up from sleep or metaphorically becoming aware or alert.
Common Contexts
Waking up from sleep: 覚ます is used when someone wakes themselves or others from sleep. For example, 目を覚ます (めをさます) means "to open one's eyes" or "to wake up."
Becoming alert or sober: It can also mean to clear one's mind or become alert, such as using cold water to wake oneself up.
Coming to senses: In a figurative sense, 覚ます can mean to regain awareness or realize something important.
Collocations and Patterns
- 目を覚ます: to wake up (literally "open eyes")
- 眠気を覚ます: to shake off sleepiness
- 我に覚ます: to come to one's senses
Register and Usage Notes
覚ます is a transitive verb, so it requires a direct object (someone or something being awakened). It is more formal than the intransitive 覚める (さめる), which means "to wake up" or "to become sober" by itself.
Common Mistake
Learners sometimes confuse 覚ます (transitive) with 覚める (intransitive). Remember 覚ます requires an object (someone or something is being awakened), while 覚める happens by itself.