手がける・手掛ける・手懸ける|てがけるtegakeru[3]nakadaka (mid-high)
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Which spelling to use
手がける手がける is the most common written form and the recommended choice for beginners. Use it when writing the word.
手掛ける手掛ける is a less common written form of 手がける. You may encounter it in writing, but beginners can generally choose 手がける.
手懸ける手懸ける is a rarely used written form. Beginners will seldom need to choose it and should normally use 手がける instead.
Definitions
- ichidan verb, transitive verbto handle; to manage; to deal with; to work with; to have experience with
- ichidan verb, transitive verbto rear; to look after
Conjugation
| Dictionary form | 手がける（てがける） |
|---|---|
| Polite (masu) | 手がけます（てがけます） |
| Negative (nai) | 手がけない（てがけない） |
| polite (masen) | 手がけません（てがけません） |
| classical zu / nu | 手がけず・手がけぬ（てがけず・てがけぬ） |
| Past (ta) | 手がけた（てがけた） |
| polite (mashita) | 手がけました（てがけました） |
| Past negative (nakatta) | 手がけなかった（てがけなかった） |
| polite (masen deshita) | 手がけませんでした（てがけませんでした） |
| Te form | 手がけて（てがけて） |
| Potential | 手がけられる（てがけられる） |
| Passive | 手がけられる（てがけられる） |
| Causative | 手がけさせる（てがけさせる） |
| Causative passive | 手がけさせられる（てがけさせられる） |
| Conditional (ba) | 手がければ（てがければ） |
| tara | 手がけたら（てがけたら） |
| Volitional | 手がけよう（てがけよう） |
| polite (mashou) | 手がけましょう（てがけましょう） |
| Imperative | 手がけろ（てがけろ） |
Common forms generated by rule; see the senses for honorific or irregular usage.
Synonyms & antonyms
- Synonym扱うあつかうNeutralA very general word for handling things, treating people, or dealing with problems; 「手がける」 stresses personally taking on the work, as in 「手がけた作品」.
- Related商うあきなうWrittenMeans trading in or selling goods; a dated word of written style. 「手がける」 is about personally taking on a piece of work, not limited to commerce.
- Antonym放るほうるNeutralMeans throwing something aside or leaving it unattended — the opposite of 「手がける」, which is about personally taking on a task.
- Antonym放置ほうちNeutralMeans leaving something as it is without dealing with it — the opposite of 「手がける」's sense of personally handling something.
Use 「手がける」 for personally taking on and being in charge of a job or work such as a piece you created. For handling or dealing with things in general, use 「扱う」; for leaving something unattended, use 「放る」 or 「放置」.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese definitions
Kanji in this word
English equivalents
