Translation guide
How to express 'put aside' in Japanese, covering physical setting aside, saving money, and temporarily ignoring or postponing something.
To place an object to one side, out of the way, or in a designated spot for later use.
General verb for 'put' or 'place'. Often combined with adverbs like わきに (aside) to specify 'put aside'.
本をわきに置いてください。
Please put the book aside.
Literally 'put to the side'. Natural for physically moving something out of the way.
Put that box aside.
Means 'tidy up' or 'put away'. Used when putting things aside as part of cleaning or organizing.
Please put aside the tools you used.
To set aside money, typically by saving or reserving it.
Standard verb for 'save money'. Implies putting money aside in a bank or savings.
I put aside a little money every month.
Literally 'set money aside and keep it'. Emphasizes reserving for a specific purpose.
I put aside money for the trip.
Means 'accumulate' or 'set aside regularly'. Often used for systematic savings plans.
To set aside a matter, disagreement, or emotion for the time being, often to focus on something else.
Same as physical 'put aside', but used metaphorically for abstract things like opinions or emotions.
Let's put aside personal feelings and work.
Literally 'put on the shelf'. Means to shelve or postpone a matter indefinitely.
That issue was put aside.
Means 'put on hold' or 'defer'. Common in business or formal contexts.
Let's put that proposal aside for now.
A conjunction meaning 'aside from' or 'putting aside'. Used to set a topic aside before moving to the main point.
わきに置く is used for both physical and metaphorical 'putting aside', and is neutral in tone. 棚上げにする specifically means to shelve an issue, often with a nuance of avoiding or delaying a decision, and is more formal.
Avoid directly translating 'put aside' as 置く aside without context. For saving money, 貯金する is more natural than お金をわきに置く. For postponing, わきに置く works metaphorically, but 保留にする or 棚上げにする may be better in formal settings.
毎月1万円を積み立てている。
I put aside 10,000 yen every month.
Joking aside, let's get to the main topic.