Choosing the right form of "to dry"


I've come across two different words for "to dry" in my readings: 干す【ほす】 and
乾く【かわく】. I've seen both used to refer to things drying out (e.g. 「白妙の衣干すちょう」
from the 2nd poem in the 百人一首 or 「涙は乾いた」 in the case of the latter). I've also
seen the related 渇く【かわく】, but that seems to be limited to topics related to
thirst (e.g. 渇いた喉).

Can anyone provide some insight into when each is appropriate?




As user5185's answer says, 干す is usually used for things that are left out in
the sun to dry, such as laundry or foods, as in 干し柿 or 干しいか. 乾かす is more of a
general term that doesn't necessarily involve desiccation, and usually
involves taking action to do the drying, e.g. drying one's hair, drying
laundry in a drying machine, wiping tears from someone's face, etc. 乾燥する is
along the same lines.




干す and 乾かす are transitive and 乾く is intransitive. 乾かす is a general word for
'to dry' and 干す is to dry by hanging or in the sunshine.

