Copyright © 2026 Kotomora. All Rights Reserved.
叩き上げる (たたきあげる) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
Meanings 1
ichidan verb, intransitive verb, transitive verb
work one's way up ; rise through the ranks
Describes advancing in a career or skill through practical experience and effort, often from a low starting point. Can be used both intransitively (to rise) and transitively (to train someone up from the bottom).
を
叩たた
き
上あ
げ
て
一いち
人にん
前まえ
に
する
。
The craftsman trains his apprentice from the ground up until they become fully-fledged.
Written forms 叩たた き 上あ げる Usage 31%
叩たた きあげる Usage 34%
Variant with okurigana あげる instead of 上げる.
たたき 上あ げる Usage 21%
Mixed kana-kanji spelling; common in informal writing.
たたきあげる Usage 14%
Similar words 成な り 上あ がる 成り上がる also means to rise in status, but often carries a nuance of sudden or opportunistic advancement, while 叩き上げる emphasizes steady, hard-earned progress through experience.
Etymology Compound of 叩く (tataku, 'to strike, beat') + 上げる (ageru, 'to raise'). The image is of forging or hammering something upward, metaphorically applied to building a career through persistent effort.
