This probably won¡¯t come as a surprise to anyone but when you¡¯re trying to talk about your Halloween plans in Japanese, the main verb you¡¯ll need to know is ׍ë (kiru, to wear).

While mainly used with what you wear, ׍ë isn¡¯t limited to clothing. You can ¶÷¤Ë׍ë (on ni kiru, feel indebted) when you¡¯re grateful to someone, or you can ¡°wear¡± someone else¡¯s ×ï (tsumi, guilt), as in ×ï¤ò׍ë (tsumi o kiru, to take the blame). Using the passive form reverses the sentiment: ×ï¤ò׍»¤ë (Tsumi o kiseru) will have you pinning blame or a crime on someone else.

The kanji ×Å (ki/chaku/jaku/tsu) is also used in a variety of compound forms, such as: ×ÅÌæ¤¨¤ë (kigaeru, to change clothes), ×Åï—¤ë (kikazaru, to dress up), ׍³¤Ê¤¹ (kikonasu, to wear stylishly) and ׯؤ¹ (kimawasu, to mix and match). The term ×ÅÓ乤ë (chakuy¨­ suru) is synonymous with ׍ë, but it¡¯s often used for equipment such as ¥Þ¥¹¥¯¤ò×ÅÓ乤ë (masuku o chakuy¨­ suru, to wear a mask).

If you¡¯re going to a Halloween party, you¡¯ll likely ¢×°¤¹¤ë (kas¨­ suru, wear a costume). More familiarly, you can also say ¥³¥¹¥×¥ì¤¹¤ë (kosupure suru, to cosplay). But ¥³¥¹¥×¥ì (kosupure), an abbreviation of ¥³¥¹¥Á¥å©`¥à¥×¥ì¥¤ (¡°costume¡± and ¡°play¡±) connotes an act of turning into characters from anime and games. We may not use cosplay when we dress up as Dracula, for example.

Finally, if you spot a friend sporting an amazing Halloween costume, give them a ¡°×Ť³¤Ê¤·¤Æ¤ë¤Í!¡± (Kikonashiteru ne!, Wow, you wear that well!)