助け舟・助け船|たすけぶねtasukebune[4]nakadaka (mid-high)

1. nounlifeboat
2. nounfriend in need; helping hand; timely help
   私が質問しつもんに答こたえられないでいると、彼かれが助け舟たすけぶねを出だしてくれた。↗

   When I didn't know how to answer the question, he gave me a hint.

• SynonymサポートNeutralNeutral loanword. Support in the service sense, as in 「カスタマーサポート」.
• Synonym救いすくいNeutralNeutral. Rescue or salvation, and also spiritual comfort, as in 「唯一の救い」; the stress is on being saved.
• Synonym力添えちからぞえNeutralNeutral. Lending a hand, mostly in the polite request phrase 「お力添え」.
• Synonym援護えんごWrittenWritten/formal prose. Covering and protecting someone while supporting them, as in 「援護射撃」; a military-flavored image.
• Related後ろ盾うしろだてWrittenWritten/formal prose. A backer or patron standing behind you — long-term support; 「助け舟」 is a timely hand in a moment of trouble.
• Related援助えんじょWrittenFormal prose. Aid to people or groups in trouble, from financial assistance to on-the-spot help; 「助け舟」 is only the timely rescue when someone is stuck.
• Related支援しえんNeutralNeutral. Support, often organized efforts like 「被災地支援」; no nuance of bailing someone out on the spot.
• Related支持しじNeutralNeutral. Backing or endorsement — declaring where you stand; not a rescue in a tight spot.
• Related応援おうえんNeutralNeutral. Cheering people on or sending extra hands; the emphasis is on encouragement, not getting someone out of a jam.
• Related後援こうえんWrittenWritten/formal prose. Backing given from behind, as in 「後援会」 or 「市の後援」; 「助け舟」 is about rescuing someone on the spot.
• Related補助ほじょWrittenWritten/formal prose. A subsidy or allowance that makes up for what is lacking, as in 「補助金」.
• Related助成じょせいWrittenWritten/formal prose. Funding a project, mainly financial and institutional, as in 「研究助成金」.
• Related協賛きょうさんWrittenWritten/formal prose. Endorsing a project or event and lending cooperation, as in 「協賛企業」; not an on-the-spot rescue.
• Relatedお手伝いおてつだいNeutralColloquial. Helping with a job or housework, and also a hired maid; about getting work done, not bailing someone out.
• Related扶助ふじょWrittenWritten/formal prose. Supporting someone's livelihood — welfare usage, as in 「生活扶助」.
• Related介助かいじょNeutralNeutral. Hands-on help with daily actions for the sick or elderly, as in 「食事介助」; care work, not a rescue.
• Related後押しあとおしNeutralColloquial. Literally a push from behind, figuratively backing and encouraging someone; the image is a push forward.
• Related賛助さんじょWrittenWritten/formal prose. Endorsing and supporting a cause, often as group membership, as in 「賛助会員」.
• Related加勢かせいNeutralNeutral. Joining in on someone's side — reinforcements, as in 「喧嘩に加勢」; about taking sides.
• Related助力じょりょくWrittenWritten/formal prose. Lending a hand with someone's work, in polite phrasing like 「ご助力を賜る」.
• Related介添えかいぞえWrittenWritten/formal prose. Attending at someone's side to care for them — wedding attendants, a boxer's cornerman.
• Related肩入れかたいれNeutralColloquial. Taking someone's side and favoring them, as in 「新人に肩入れ」.
• Related支えささえNeutralNeutral. Something you lean on, often emotionally, as in 「心の支え」; a pillar of support.
• Antonym妨害ぼうがいWrittenWritten/formal prose. Obstructing or interfering — the opposite of extending a helping hand.
• Antonym足かせあしかせNeutralColloquial. Shackles that hold someone back — a burden, the opposite of a timely rescue.

For help in general, use 「助け」 or 「援助」. When someone is stuck or at a loss for an answer and you throw them a lifeline, that is 「助け舟」, usually as 「助け舟を出す」. A long-term backer is 「後ろ盾」; something that drags a person down is 「足かせ」.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

1. 遭難者そうなんしゃや遭難そうなん船せんを救助きゅうじょする船ふね。
2. 困こまっているときに力ちからを貸かすもの。力ちからを貸かすこと。