汚す

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 汚す, read よごす here, is a transitive verb meaning to make something dirty.
• Basic usage: It can describe soiling a floor with mud or polluting a river with trash.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Relation to 汚れる
  • 床を汚す focuses on the act of dirtying a floor, while 床が汚れる focuses on the floor becoming dirty. The latter verb is read よごれる.