着く (つく, tsuku) Japanese meaning: arrive at | Kotomora

着つく

つ

く

Common wordJLPTN5Freq.FrequencyTop 5,000

着く · godan verb (-ku)

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	着つく	着つかない
Polite	着つきます	着つきません
Past polite	着つきました	着つきませんでした
Past	着ついた	着つかなかった
Te-form	着ついて	着つかないで
Desire	着つきたい	着つきたくない
Potential	着つける	着つけない
Passive	着つかれる	着つかれない
Causative	着つかせる	着つかせない
Causative passive	着つかせられるalso 着つかされる	着つかせられないalso 着つかされない
Volitional	着つこう
Polite volitional	着つきましょう
Imperative	着つけ	着つくな
Conditional	着つけば	着つかなければ
Tara conditional	着ついたら	着つかなかったら

Meanings

godan verb (-ku), intransitive verb

arrive at; reach

General intransitive verb for arriving at a destination or reaching a place. Often used with に or へ.

電でん車しゃはまもなく東とう京きょう駅えきに着

Kanji

着don, arrive, wear

Related words· 6

到とう着ちゃくN4sense 1
到着する is a formal, often written/announcement word for arriving, while 着く is the plain, everyday verb used in conversation.
届とどくN4
着く is used for people or vehicles arriving at a place, while 届く is used for items, mail, or sounds reaching a destination.
辿たどり着つくN1
着く simply means 'to arrive' with no implication of difficulty, while 辿り着く emphasizes the effort or hardship of the journey that led to arriving.
至いたるN2
着く is the everyday verb for physically arriving somewhere, whereas 至る is more literary and used for physical arrival mainly in set phrases like 道が...に至る.

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到とう達たつN1
着く is the plain, everyday verb for arriving somewhere, while 到達 sounds more formal and is often used for abstract goals as well as places.
達たっするN3
着く is intransitive and used for arriving at a physical destination, whereas 達する is transitive and can be used for both physical and abstract targets.

Opposites

出しゅっ発ぱつN4sense 1
出発する means to depart or set out, the direct opposite of 着く which means to arrive.
発たつN2
着く means to arrive at a destination, the opposite of 発つ, which means to depart from a place.

Politeness

参まいるhumble 謙譲語N4sense 1
参る is the humble (謙譲語) verb used when speaking modestly about one's own arrival, while 着く is the neutral, plain verb for arriving.

Don't confuse with

付つくN4
付く shares the reading つく with 着く but means to stick or attach to something, not to arrive at a place.
就つくN3
就く shares the reading つく with 着く but means to take up a job or position, unlike 着く's meaning of arriving or taking a seat.
突つくN1
着く sounds identical to 突く but means to arrive at a place, which is unrelated to poking or thrusting.

Word family· 9

落おち着つくN3
calm down; compose oneself; relax · settle down; die down; become stable; abate · settle down; settle in · be settled; be fixed; be reached · harmonize with; fit; suit · quiet; subdued; unobtrusive
落おち着つきN1
calmness; composure; presence of mind · stability; steadiness
辿たどり着つくN1
finally arrive at; reach at last; manage to get to

Written forms

着つくUsage4%
Standard kanji spelling for both senses.
つくUsage96%
Kana spelling is common in everyday writing, especially when the intended meaning is clear from context.

Etymology

The kanji 着 carries meanings of 'arrive' and 'wear', and the verb 着く (つく) is a native Japanese word with the core meaning of 'to arrive' or 'to settle into a position'. The sense of sitting down is an extension from settling into a seat.

着つく

Meanings

Usage patterns

Expressions