To repair, mend, or correct something; to restore to the right or proper state (including fixing mistakes or tidying appearances).
壊れた自転車を直すのに半日かかった。
It took half a day to fix the broken bicycle.
レポートの誤字を直してから提出した。
I corrected the typos in the report before submitting it.
寝ぐせを直してから出かけた。
I fixed my bed hair before going out.
彼は気分を直して仕事に戻った。
He pulled himself together and returned to work.
To change or alter something into another form; to convert or translate (e.g., converting a file format or translating text).
このデータをPDFに直して送ってください。
Please convert this data to PDF and send it.
英語のメールを日本語に直す手伝いをした。
I helped translate an English email into Japanese.
サイズが合わないのでスーツを直してもらった。
The suit didn't fit, so I had it altered.
In Kansai dialect: to put something back or to put away (to tidy up).
ご飯食べたらお皿を直すといてや。
When you finish eating, put the plates away. (Kansai dialect)
To cure or heal an illness or injury; to restore someone to health (often written with the kanji 治す).
医者は患者の病気を直すために最善を尽くした。
The doctor did his best to cure the patient's illness.
風邪は薬を飲んで直した。
I cured the cold by taking medicine.
An archaic/dated sense meaning to promote or advance someone in rank; rarely used in modern Japanese.
昔の記録には『直す』が役職を上げる意味で使われていることがある。
In old records, '直す' is sometimes used to mean promoting someone to a post.
A suffixal use after the -masu stem of a verb to mean 'do again' or 'redo' (e.g., 考え直す, やり直す).
考え直す時間が必要です。
I need time to rethink.
レポートをやり直して提出した。
I redid the report and submitted it.