Word
手伝い
Meaning in Englishhelp, helper, assistant
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Sentence
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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
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