贈る
Meaning in Englishgive as a gift, present, award
Animated kanji stroke order
Related sentences
Related sentences
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Word context
What it means
贈る means to give someone a gift or present something, especially as a deliberate gesture of goodwill or celebration; it emphasizes the act of presenting an object or symbol rather than merely handing it over.
Main meanings
- To confer a tangible gift in personal or ceremonial contexts.
- To bestow or confer something non-physical, such as an honor or award, as a ceremonial gesture.
- To send or present a token, such as greetings or commemorative items, as a sign of goodwill.
How to use it
Used to describe the act of giving a gift or presenting something to someone, in contexts ranging from casual exchanges to formal ceremonies; it typically takes a を-marked object for the item and a に-marked recipient, and often appears in phrases with 贈り物 or in sentences about celebrations and memorials.
Variants and close terms
- 贈与する (ぞうよ suru) – formal synonym; ぞうよ is read zouyo.
- 与える (あたえる) – broader sense to give or bestow, less formal than 贈る.
- 贈呈する (ぞうていする) – formal act of presenting or awarding.
- 受け取る (うけとる) – opposite of receiving, a common antonym in usage pairs.
Composition
- 贈: the core semantic element meaning gift or present
- る: verb ending that turns the noun form into a verb
Etymology
Phonetic evolution: On'yomi readings ソウ and ゾウ were assigned to this kanji to convey the idea of gifting, while the kun'yomi おくる developed to express the native verb sense of giving a gift; the character functions as a semantic cue for presenting in Japanese.
Word class
Verb (godan) (動詞・五段)