Word
手伝い
Meaning in Englishhelp, helper, assistant
Animated kanji stroke order
Sentence
Related sentences
Word context
What it means
手伝い means help or assistance, or a person who helps; it describes giving support to perform tasks and can refer to a formal or casual helper in a family, workplace, or organization.
Main meanings
- help or assistance provided to someone
- a person who helps; an assistant or helper
- a domestic helper or maid in historical or formal contexts
- the act of helping, often used in phrases like 家事の手伝い or 学校行事の手伝い
How to use it
As a noun, 手伝い refers to the act of helping or to a person who helps. It appears in casual and formal contexts, often with の or をする to specify the type of help, such as 家事の手伝い (domestic help) or 事務の手伝い (administrative assistance); to express the action of helping, use 手伝う, the verb form.
Variants and close terms
- 援助 enjo — formal synonym
- 協力 kyōryoku — cooperation
- 家事の手伝い kaji no tetsudai — domestic help
- 介助 kaijo — assistance, support
Composition
- 手: hand
- 伝: part of the verb 手伝う; together with the suffix い forms the noun representing the act of helping
Etymology
手伝う (てつだう, tetsudau) with the nominalizing suffix い; the first character 手 means 'hand' and the combination with 伝 (from the verb tsudau) yields the sense of providing help by hand.
Word class
noun (名詞)
Word
Related words by kanji and components
N1
手回し
temawashi
preparations, arrangements
N1
手元
temoto
(money) on hand or at home, one's purse; usual skill
N1
手分け
tewake
division of labor
N1
手芸
shugei
handicrafts
N2
～手
～shu
~ player, person who does ~
N2
勝手に
katteni
arbitrarily,
N2
手洗い
tearai
restroom, lavatory
N2
手入れ
teire
repairs, maintenance
N2
手首
tekubi
wrist
Kanji