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填補 (てんぽ) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
Meanings 1
noun, noun or participle which takes 'suru', transitive verb
making up a deficit ; covering a loss ; compensation ; replenishment
formal or literary
Formal or literary term for compensating a shortage, covering a loss, or supplementing what is lacking. Often used in financial, administrative, or abstract contexts.
We will make up the shortfall from the reserve fund.
Written forms 填てん 補ぽ Usage 5%
Standard kanji form; 填 is a common-use kanji for filling or compensating.
てん 補ぽ Usage 76%
Mixed kana-kanji spelling used when 填 is not available or for readability.
塡てん 補ぽ Usage 19%
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form; 塡 is an older variant of 填.
Kanji 補 supplement, supply, make good 塡 fill in, fill up, make good Similar words 補ほ 填てん 補填 is a more common near-synonym also meaning 'compensation' or 'making up a deficit'. 填補 is more formal and less frequent, often used in legal or bureaucratic writing.
補ほ 充じゅう 補充 means 'replenishment' or 'supplementation' in a general sense (e.g., supplies, staff). 填補 specifically implies filling a gap or covering a loss, often financial.
Etymology Compound of 填 (fill, compensate) and 補 (supplement, make up). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the word is used in formal written Japanese.