染める

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 染める(そめる) is a transitive verb for coloring something.
• Basic usage: It describes both dyeing hair and scenes such as the setting sun coloring clouds.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• を for the object and に for the resulting color
  • In 髪を落ち着いた色に染める, the hair is the object and a subdued color is the result. を and に distinguish those roles.
• How it differs from 染まる
  • 雲を染める focuses on what causes the clouds to change color; 雲が染まる focuses on the clouds' change. Distinguish intransitive 染まる(そまる) from transitive 染める.