Japanese

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Kanji in this term
つか
Grade: 3
kun'yomi
Alternative spelling
事える (rare)

Etymology

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/tukapu//t͡sukafu//t͡sukafuru//t͡sukaferu//t͡sukaeru/

From Old Japanese. Appears in the Man'yōshū of 759.[1]

Cognate with 使う (tsukau, ancient tsukapu; “to use”), and derived via regular historical processes from the 下二段活用 (shimo nidan katsuyō, lower bigrade conjgation) verb paradigm from this same root form.

While the 四段活用 (yodan katsuyō, quadrigrade conjugation) pattern for tsukau was used to refer to the action of a superior to a subordinate, the shimo nidan conjugation pattern was used to refer to the action of a subordinate to a superior.[1]

Pronunciation

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  • Tokyo pitch accent of conjugated forms of 「仕える
Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary
Stem forms
Terminal (終止形)
Attributive (連体形)
仕える かえ
える
[tsùkáéꜜrù]
[tsùkáꜜèrù]
Imperative (命令形) 仕えろ かえ
えろ
[tsùkáéꜜrò]
[tsùkáꜜèrò]
Key constructions
Passive 仕えられる かえられ [tsùkáéráréꜜrù]
Causative 仕えさせる かえさせ [tsùkáésáséꜜrù]
Potential 仕えられる かえられ [tsùkáéráréꜜrù]
Volitional 仕えよう かえよ [tsùkáéyóꜜò]
Negative 仕えない かえない [tsùkáéꜜnàì]
Negative perfective 仕えなかった かえなかった [tsùkáéꜜnàkàttà]
Formal 仕えます かえま [tsùkáémáꜜsù]
Perfective 仕えた えた [tsùkáꜜètà]
Conjunctive 仕えて えて [tsùkáꜜètè]
Hypothetical conditional 仕えれば かえれば
えれば
[tsùkáéꜜrèbà]
[tsùkáꜜèrèbà]

Verb

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(つか)える (tsukaeruつかへる (tukaferu)?intransitive ichidan (stem (つか) (tsukae), past (つか)えた (tsukaeta))

Japanese verb pair
active 使う
mediopassive 仕える
  1. to serve, serve under, take service under
  2. to enter public service

Usage notes

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This verb is intransitive. What would be translated as the object of this verb in English is marked by (ni) in Japanese. Examples:

  • (もっと)(たか)(もく)(てき)(つか)える
    motto mo takai mokuteki ni tsukaeru
    to be useful to the highest purpose → to serve the highest purpose
  • この(すう)(ねん)(かん)(ちち)(はは)(つか)えている。
    Kono sūnenkan, chichihaha ni tsukaeteiru.
    I have been being useful to my parents for several years now. → I have been taking care of my parents for several years now.

Conjugation

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Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Derived terms

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References

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  1. 1.0 1.1 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典(新装版) [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. 2.0 2.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN