取る
Meaning in Englishtake, get
Animated kanji stroke order
Related sentences
Word context
What it means
The verb 取る (toru) means "to take" — to move something into one's possession or remove it from a place or state; it functions as a broad, transitive action verb applied to physical acts and many abstract operations in everyday Japanese.
Main meanings
- 1. to pick up or collect items, such as grabbing an object or gathering harvests.
- 2. to record, capture, or register information, measurements, or evidence.
- 3. to assume, accept, or undertake a role, responsibility, duty, or task.
- 4. to select, adopt, or choose an option, policy, or candidate.
- 5. to secure points, credits, or results in games, tests, or competitions.
- 6. to arrange or take time (e.g., taking leave or making provisions).
- 7. colloquial use for unlawfully taking (stealing) in certain contexts.
How to use it
Used across registers from casual speech to formal writing, with polite forms like 取ります (torimasu) in polite contexts and plain 取る (toru) in informal speech; typical situations include physically picking up something, collecting data or samples, accepting responsibility, arranging time off, and combining with auxiliaries and other verbs to express aspect, causation, or permission.
Variants and close terms
- 採る (toru) — to pick or adopt, often used for selection or harvesting.
- 撮る (toru) — to take a photograph or record an image.
- 盗る (toru) — to steal (colloquial/archaic usage).
- 受け取る (uketoru) — to receive or accept something handed over.
- 与える (ataeru) — antonym: to give.
Composition
The kanji 取 combines semantic elements suggesting manual action and seizing: its common radical form when used as a verb is the hand radical (扌) indicating an action performed by the hand, paired with the remainder of the character that historically conveys grasping or taking, so together they evoke the idea of taking or seizing by hand.
Etymology
The verb 取る (toru) is a native Japonic root attested in Old Japanese; its phonetic shape has remained stable through historical sound changes and it follows the regular modern godan conjugation pattern, showing continuity rather than borrowing or abrupt phonological shifts.
Origin
As an action concept, 'taking' appears in the earliest Japanese records: 取る is documented in Heian-era and older texts where it described seizure of goods, harvest or tribute, and legal removal; its semantic field grew alongside administrative and agrarian practices in classical Japan.
Word class
verb (godan, transitive) (動詞、五段・他動詞)