Today I'd like to "raise" a certain word for discussion:

起こす
おこす
to raise; to cause; to wake someone

If you study with a textbook, they'll probably teach you the meaning of "to wake" first.

A few months later, you might get "to cause."

Sadly, no one ever taught me "to raise," until I was at the dentist one day and the dental hygienist said:

起こしますねー。
おこします　ねー。
I'll put your seat [bed] up now.
Literally: "raise up + ねー."

Speaking of which, do you know what the opposite of this phrase is?

Here's a hint: We saw it wayyyyyyyy back in Lesson #14.

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The reason I bring up 起こす is that it's a word I forget about. I don't necessarily use it incorrectly. Rather, I often just forget that it's a word that I can use to express certain things.

I think the main reason is that it's such a versatile verb, as you'll see in the example towards the end of this lesson. Or maybe it's a brain deficiency or something. That's also a possibility.

Let's start with the basics.

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#1 ‐ 起こす can mean "wake (someone) up"

Imagine that you're about to take a nap. You have a Skype meeting later this afternoon, though, so you need to be sure not to oversleep.

Normally you'd just set your alarm, but your phone is way across the room! No!!!

Instead, you turn to your significant other (or roommate, I guess), who happens to be in the room, and say:

1時間後に起こしてね。
いちじかんご　に　おこして　ね。
Wake me up in an hour, OK?
Literally: "one hour later + に + wake + ね."

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#2 ‐ 起こす can mean "cause"

Here's a classic example:

地震が津波を起こす。
じしん　が　つなみ　を　おこす。
Earthquakes cause tsunamis.
Literally: "earthquake + が + tsunami + を + cause.

That's also a frightening example by the way. I have a somewhat unhealthy fear of tsunamis. When I go to the beach, I'm always planning my evacuation.

Another classic example is "causing an accident:"

飲酒運転をして事故を起こしてしまった。
いんしゅうんてん　を　して　じこ　を　おこしてしまった。
He drank and drove, then caused an accident.
Literally: "drunk driving + を + do (and) + accident + を + caused (unfortunately)."

Let's not drink and drive, friends. And also just stay alive in general.

The two "cause" examples we've seen so far are extremely common. But you can cause more things than just tsunamis and accidents.

You can also cause things to become popular, like Australian supermodel Miranda Kerr:

ミランダ・カーがココナッツオイルブームを起こした。
ミランダ・カー　が　ココナッツオイル　ブーム　を　おこした。
Miranda Kerr caused the coconut oil boom.
Literally: "Miranda Kerr + が + coconut oil + boom + を + caused."

I had no idea who Miranda Kerr was until I lived in Japan. But then, I don't know anything about any celebrities ever.

She seems to be extremely popular in Japan. So popular, in fact, that she really did cause coconut oil to become wildly popular overnight.

On a side note, I love that they use the word ブーム in Japanese. My favorite way to use this word is in the phrase マイブーム, which is "something that a person is currently obsessed with or fascinated by."

最近散歩がマイブームなんだ。
さいきん　さんぽ　が　マイブーム　なんだ。
Recently I've been really into going for walks.
Literally: "recently + walks + が + my boom + なんだ."

Isn't it awesome?

Next time your favorite band's song is on, turn to your friend and be like, "You hear that? That's my boom, homie."

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#3 ‐ 起こす can "cause" flames, inflammation, and... audio transcriptions?

You go camping. The second you get the tent set up, I know you're going to say:

まずは火を起こそう。
まず　は　ひ　を　おこそう。
First, let's start a fire.
Literally: "first + は + let's start a fire [=flame + を + let's cause]."

I don't blame you. I love smores, too.

Or let's say you went to get your eyebrows waxed. But the waxologist (not a word) put some weird cream on your eyelids, and now they're all red, itchy, and irritated. In other words, they're inflamed!

You could say...

まぶたが炎症を起こしている。
まぶた　が　えんしょう　を　おこしている。
My eyelids are inflamed. // Something is irritating my eyelids.
Literally: "eyelids + が + inflammation / irritation + を + are causing."

It's most common to write the word for "eyelids," まぶた, using only hiragana. But it can also be written in kanji. In fact, there are two ways to write it in kanji. First, it has this nightmare of a kanji: 瞼. Or, you can use the two-kanji combo that I prefer: 目蓋. That's 目 (eye) and 蓋 (lid). Eyelid!

Finally, we have a usage that I did not know until today. Apparently when you "cause letters," you are transcribing something:

裁判の録音を文字に起こした。
さんばん　の　ろくおん　を　もじ　に　おこした。
I transcribed the recording of the trial.
Literally: "(court) trial + の + recording + を + transcribed [=letter/character + に + caused]."

Makes sense, I guess. Or perhaps we should say "raise letters" or "wake letters."

I don't know, man.