付き添う・付添う|つきそうtsukisou[3]nakadaka (mid-high)
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Which spelling to use
付き添う付き添う is the more common written form and the recommended choice for beginners. Use it when writing this verb.
付添う付添う is a less common written variant of 付き添う; learners will more often encounter 付き添う and should generally choose it when writing.
Definitions
- godan verb, intransitive verbto attend on; to wait on; to accompany; to escort; to chaperone
Conjugation
| Dictionary form | 付き添う（つきそう） |
|---|---|
| Polite (masu) | 付き添います（つきそいます） |
| Negative (nai) | 付き添わない（つきそわない） |
| polite (masen) | 付き添いません（つきそいません） |
| classical zu / nu | 付き添わず・付き添わぬ（つきそわず・つきそわぬ） |
| Past (ta) | 付き添った（つきそった） |
| polite (mashita) | 付き添いました（つきそいました） |
| Past negative (nakatta) | 付き添わなかった（つきそわなかった） |
| polite (masen deshita) | 付き添いませんでした（つきそいませんでした） |
| Te form | 付き添って（つきそって） |
| Potential | 付き添える（つきそえる） |
| Passive | 付き添われる（つきそわれる） |
| Causative | 付き添わせる（つきそわせる） |
| Causative passive | 付き添わせられる・付き添わされる（つきそわせられる・つきそわされる） |
| Conditional (ba) | 付き添えば（つきそえば） |
| tara | 付き添ったら（つきそったら） |
| Volitional | 付き添おう（つきそおう） |
| polite (mashou) | 付き添いましょう（つきそいましょう） |
| Imperative | 付き添え（つきそえ） |
Common forms generated by rule; see the senses for honorific or irregular usage.
Synonyms & antonyms
- SynonymついていくCasualColloquial verb for going after someone or keeping up with them; the focus is on physically following, with none of the caretaking sense of 「付き添う」.
- Synonym付き添いつきそいNeutralThe noun form of 「付き添う」, for the act of attending on someone or the person who does it, as in 「付き添いの家族」.
- Synonym同行どうこうNeutralGoing together with someone, as in 「任意同行」; no hierarchy between the people involved, and no nuance of staying close to care for them.
- Synonym伴うともなうNeutralA verb for accompanying or bringing someone along, and for one thing coming with another, as in 「危険を伴う」; it does not suggest staying at someone's side to help.
- Synonym添うそうNeutralA verb for staying close by someone without leaving; it also means to meet expectations, as in 「期待に添う」, a sense 「付き添う」 does not have.
- Synonym同伴どうはんNeutralGoing along together as companions, as in 「保護者同伴」; the emphasis is on bringing a companion, not on attending to their needs.
- Synonym随行ずいこうFormalA formal word for travelling with a superior or important person; it stresses the attendant's subordinate role, not looking after them.
- Synonym従うしたがうNeutralA verb for obeying or complying with rules and orders, and for following a person; the emphasis is on obedience rather than on staying close to help.
- Synonym介添えかいぞえNeutralAttending beside someone to help them, or the helper themselves, including a bridesmaid or best man; the emphasis is on giving hands-on assistance.
- Synonym随伴ずいはんWrittenA written word for accompanying someone or for one thing coming along with another; unlike 「付き添う」 it carries no nuance of caring for them.
- Synonym付き従うつきしたがうNeutralA verb for following behind someone or serving under them; the emphasis is on following, while 「付き添う」 is about staying close to look after them.
- Synonymお供おともNeutralA noun for attending someone, as in 「お供します」 or 「子供のお供をする」; humble in tone, and unlike 「付き添う」 it carries no nuance of looking after them.
- Synonymご一緒ごいっしょFormalAn honorific way to say doing something together, as in 「ご一緒させてください」; it implies no looking after the other person.
- Synonym相伴うあいともなうWrittenA written, fairly rare verb for accompanying one another; unlike 「付き添う」 it does not suggest staying close to look after someone.
- Synonym同道どうどうWrittenA written, old-fashioned word for going together with someone; rarely used, and without the nuance of caring for the person that 「付き添う」 has.
- Synonym陪従ばいじゅうWrittenA written, archaic term for attending and serving a person of high rank; rarely used today, and unlike 「付き添う」 not about staying close to care for them.
- Synonym随従ずいじゅうWrittenA written word for following someone's lead, sometimes with a nuance of blind obedience; it does not suggest staying close to care for them.
- Related連れ立つつれだつNeutralA verb for setting out together with others; the emphasis is on several people going along as a group, not on one person looking after another.
- Antonym離れるはなれるNeutralAn antonym: to leave or move away from someone, the opposite of the close attendance that 「付き添う」 describes.
- Antonym放置するNeutralAn antonym: to leave someone or something unattended, the opposite of staying at their side to look after them.
Use 「付き添う」 when you stay at someone's side to look after them, as in 「病人に付き添う」 or 「子供に付き添う」. For simply following behind, use 「付き従う」 or the colloquial 「ついて行く」; for attending someone as a companion, 「お供」; for going somewhere together, 「同行」. Words like 「ご一緒」, 「同伴」 and 「連れ立つ」 stress doing or going together without a caretaking nuance, while 「随行」, 「随伴」, 「陪従」 and 「随従」 are formal or written terms for attending a superior. The antonyms 「離れる」 and 「放置する」 describe leaving someone or leaving them unattended.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese definitions
Kanji in this word
English equivalents
See also
