Common word› Freq. Frequency Top 20,000 Conjugation 培う · godan verb (-u)
Form Positive Negative Dictionary 培つちか う 培つちか わない Polite 培つちか います 培つちか いません Past polite 培つちか いました 培つちか いませんでした Past 培つちか った 培つちか わなかった Te-form 培つちか って 培つちか わないで Desire 培つちか いたい 培つちか いたくない Potential 培つちか える 培つちか えない Passive 培つちか われる 培つちか われない Causative 培つちか わせる 培つちか わせない Causative passive 培つちか わせられる also 培つちか わされる 培つちか わせられない also 培つちか わされない Volitional 培つちか おう Polite volitional 培つちか いましょう Imperative 培つちか え 培つちか うな Conditional 培つちか えば 培つちか わなければ Tara conditional 培つちか ったら 培つちか わなかったら
Usage patterns 〈 物もの 〉 を 培つちか う to cultivate a skill, quality, or ability over time
Through tough practice, he cultivated patience.
〈 人ひと 〉 との 信しん 頼らい を 培つちか う to build trust with someone over time
Over many years of working together, she built trust with her colleagues.
〈 場ば 所しょ 〉 で 〈 物もの 〉 を 培つちか う to foster a quality in a particular setting
It's important to cultivate cooperativeness at school.
Related words 育てる is the broad, concrete verb for raising children, animals, plants, or skills, while 培う is reserved for the slow, deliberate cultivation of abstract qualities like trust or culture.
養う emphasizes providing material support or nourishment to sustain someone or something, whereas 培う focuses on gradually building up intangible assets such as skill or relationships.
醸成する describes fostering an atmosphere, mood, or sentiment that develops naturally over time, while 培う is used more broadly for deliberately nurturing skills, trust, or culture.
培う focuses on cultivating abilities, experience, or qualities through effort over time, whereas 育む emphasizes warm, caring nurturing of feelings or living things.
培う is the native, everyday verb for cultivating or fostering something figuratively, and it sounds more natural than 培養する in ordinary metaphorical contexts.
Don't confuse with 蓄える means to store up or save resources (money, food, knowledge) for future use, while 培う means to nurture an abstract quality through sustained effort, not simply accumulate it.
Written forms 培つちか う Usage 93%
Standard kanji spelling for cultivating, fostering, or nurturing something over time.
つちかう Usage 7%
Etymology The exact derivation is uncertain. The kanji 培 is conventionally associated with cultivating or building up, and the reading つちかう may be related to 土 (つち , 'soil') and 養う (かう , 'to nourish'), suggesting a metaphorical sense of enriching soil.
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