片付ける (katazukeru) Japanese meaning: tidy up | Kotomora

片かた付づける

か

た

づ

け

る

Common wordJLPTN4Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

片付ける · ichidan verb

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	片かた付づける	片かた付づけない
Polite	片かた付づけます	片かた付づけません
Past polite	片かた付づけました	片かた付づけませんでした
Past	片かた付づけた	片かた付づけなかった
Te-form	片かた付づけて	片かた付づけないで
Desire	片かた付づけたい	片かた付づけたくない
Potential	片かた付づけられるalso 片かた付づけれる	片かた付づけられないalso 片かた付づけれない
Passive	片かた付づけられる	片かた付づけられない
Causative	片かた付づけさせる	片かた付づけさせない
Causative passive	片かた付づけさせられる	片かた付づけさせられない
Volitional	片かた付づけよう
Polite volitional	片かた付づけましょう
Imperative	片かた付づけろ	片かた付づけるな
Conditional	片かた付づければ	片かた付づけなければ
Tara conditional	片かた付づけたら	片かた付づけなかったら

Pairs with片付く

Meanings

ichidan verb, transitive verb

tidy up; put away; clear up

Physical tidying: putting things in their proper place, cleaning up a room or desk.

子こ供

Kanji

片one-sided, leaf, sheet
付adhere, attach, refer to

Transitive / intransitive

片かた付づくN3
片付ける is the transitive verb meaning 'to tidy up/settle (something)', while 片付く is intransitive and describes the state of becoming tidy or settled on its own.

Related words· 11

整せい理りN4sense 1
整理する is a more formal, systematic way to say 'organize' (documents, data, systems), while 片付ける is the everyday word for tidying physical spaces.
解かい決けつN3sense 2
解決する is the formal word for 'resolve' a problem or dispute, while 片付ける in this sense is a casual way of saying you handled and finished the matter.
済すませるN3sense 3
済ませる focuses on getting something done or over with, while 片付ける stresses clearing a task off your workload.
殺ころすN3sense 5
殺す is the plain, direct word for 'kill', while 片付ける in this sense is a slangy euphemism for eliminating someone.

Show 7 more

始し末まつN1sense 2
始末する covers disposing of or dealing with something (including euphemistically killing), overlapping with 片付ける's senses of settling matters or eliminating someone.
しまうN3
片付ける focuses on tidying or organizing a space, while 仕舞う emphasizes returning an object to its proper storage place.
済すますN2
片付ける emphasizes clearing away or resolving a matter, while 済ます focuses simply on bringing it to an end.

Opposites

散ちらかすN3
片付ける means to tidy up and put things away, the opposite of 散らかす, which means to leave things scattered and messy.

Don't confuse with

整ととのえるN2
片付ける means to clear away or put things back in their place, whereas 整える means to arrange something into a proper, orderly, or ready state, not just remove clutter.
くっつけるN2
片付ける looks and sounds similar to くっ付ける but means 'to tidy up or put away', not 'to attach'.

Word family

片かた付づけN2
tidying up; cleaning up; putting in order
後あと片かた付づけN1
tidying up; cleaning up; putting things in order
取とり片かた付づける
clean up; clear away; put in order

Built from

片かた+つける

Written forms

片かた付づけるUsage48%
Standard kanji spelling for all senses.
片かたづけるUsage44%
Common alternative spelling using づ instead of 付.
かたづけるUsage9%

Etymology

Compound of 片 (kata, 'one side') + 付ける (tsukeru, 'attach, put'). The original image is of putting things to one side, leading to 'tidying up' and later extended to 'settling' matters.

Meanings

Usage patterns