補佐・輔佐|ほさhosa[1]atamadaka (head-high)
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Which spelling to use
補佐補佐 is the most common written form and the recommended choice for learners; it is the kanji-only form.
輔佐輔佐 is a rarely used kanji-only variant. You may encounter it, but choose 補佐 when writing this word yourself.
Definitions
- noun, suru verb, transitive verbaid; help; assistance; assistant; counselor; counsellor; adviser; advisor
Conjugation
| Dictionary form | 補佐する（ほさする） |
|---|---|
| Polite (masu) | 補佐します（ほさします） |
| Negative (nai) | 補佐しない（ほさしない） |
| polite (masen) | 補佐しません（ほさしません） |
| classical zu / nu | 補佐せず・補佐せぬ（ほさせず・ほさせぬ） |
| Past (ta) | 補佐した（ほさした） |
| polite (mashita) | 補佐しました（ほさしました） |
| Past negative (nakatta) | 補佐しなかった（ほさしなかった） |
| polite (masen deshita) | 補佐しませんでした（ほさしませんでした） |
| Te form | 補佐して（ほさして） |
| Potential | 補佐できる（ほさできる） |
| Passive | 補佐される（ほさされる） |
| Causative | 補佐させる（ほささせる） |
| Causative passive | 補佐させられる（ほささせられる） |
| Conditional (ba) | 補佐すれば（ほさすれば） |
| tara | 補佐したら（ほさしたら） |
| Volitional | 補佐しよう（ほさしよう） |
| polite (mashou) | 補佐しましょう（ほさしましょう） |
| Imperative | 補佐しろ（ほさしろ） |
Common forms generated by rule; see the senses for honorific or irregular usage.
Synonyms & antonyms
- Synonym補助ほじょNeutralNeutral noun for subsidies and allowances that make up for a shortfall, as in 「補助金」; unlike 「補佐」, it is not about holding an aide's role beside a superior.
- Synonym手助けてだすけCasualColloquial noun for lending a hand with a task; suggests a small, everyday bit of help rather than the formal aide role of 「補佐」.
- Synonym助力じょりょくWrittenWritten and polite: lending one's strength to another's work, as in 「ご助力を賜る」; formal-prose help, not the aide post of 「補佐」.
- Synonym力添えちからぞえNeutralNeutral noun for backing someone up, mostly heard in the honorific 「お力添え」; a courteous way to speak of help, not a job title like 「補佐」.
- SynonymアシストCasualColloquial loanword for helping out, or in soccer the final pass before a goal; casual everyday word, not the formal aide role of 「補佐」.
- Synonym援助えんじょWrittenWritten, formal noun for lending help to people or groups in need, typically funds, supplies or expertise, as in 「経済援助」「技術援助」; not a role beside a superior like 「補佐」.
- Synonym支援しえんNeutralNeutral noun for sustained support of people or causes, as in 「被災地支援」; stresses ongoing backing rather than serving at a superior's side.
- Synonym扶助ふじょWrittenWritten noun for supporting someone's livelihood, mainly in social-welfare contexts, as in 「相互扶助」; institutional aid, not an aide post.
- SynonymアシスタントNeutralNeutral loanword for an assistant's position, as in 「アシスタント・ディレクター」; a job title, where 「補佐」 stresses the assisting itself.
- Synonym女房役にょうぼうやくNeutralNeutral noun for a trusted right-hand person, as in 「社長の女房役」; close to 「補佐」 in meaning but idiomatic and figurative.
- SynonymヘルプCasualColloquial loanword for help or rescue; also the help menu in software. Casual everyday word, nothing like the formal aide role of 「補佐」.
- Related助成じょせいWrittenWritten noun for funding and fostering projects, as in 「研究助成金」; financial sponsorship, not personal service to a superior.
- Related介助かいじょNeutralNeutral noun for helping the elderly, sick or disabled with their movements, as in 「介助犬」; hands-on care at one's side, not a staff role.
- Related一助いちじょWrittenWritten noun for a small, modest help, typically used humbly, as in 「一助となれば」; self-deprecating, unlike the defined post of 「補佐」.
- Related助けるたすけるNeutralNeutral verb and the everyday default for helping or rescuing; it can describe helping a superior, but unlike 「補佐」 it does not name an aide post or role.
- Relatedお手伝いおてつだいCasualPolite colloquial noun for helping out, or for a maid, as in 「お手伝いさん」; domestic, casual help rather than a deputy's post.
- Related手伝うてつだうNeutralNeutral verb for helping with a task, as in 「家事を手伝う」; the everyday word for doing part of someone's work, not an aide position.
- Related手伝いてつだいNeutralNeutral, everyday noun for a helper or for helping out, as in 「店の手伝い」; plain help with a task, where 「補佐」 sounds more official.
- Related加担かたんWrittenWritten noun for siding with a party and lending them a hand, often with a negative tinge of complicity; 「補佐」 simply names the role of assisting a superior.
- Related加勢かせいNeutralNeutral noun for joining in as reinforcement, stressing added manpower or strength; not the steady aide role of 「補佐」.
- Related応援おうえんNeutralNeutral noun with wide use, from backing someone up to cheering them on, as in 「応援団」; unlike 「補佐」, it is not the name of an aide post.
- Related介添えかいぞえNeutralNeutral noun for attending and caring for someone at their side, or a bridesmaid or best man; personal attendance, not a deputy post.
- Related協賛きょうさんWrittenWritten noun for endorsing and cooperating in or sponsoring an event; support based on approval, not personal service to a superior.
- Related助太刀すけだちNeutralNeutral noun for stepping in to back someone up, originally in a duel or fight, as in 「助太刀する」; in everyday use it keeps a swashbuckling flavor and names no aide post.
- Related助勢じょせいWrittenWritten noun for joining a side to back or reinforce it; adds strength in a confrontation, unlike the subordinate service of 「補佐」.
- Related幇助ほうじょWrittenWritten, legal-flavored noun for helping someone commit a crime, as in 「自殺幇助」; 「補佐」 is ordinary assisting in a supporting role, with no criminal sense.
- Antonym主導しゅどうWrittenWritten antonym: leading or directing from the center, as in 「政府主導」; taking charge where 「補佐」 means serving behind a leader.
Use 「補佐」 for assisting a superior or serving as a deputy, as in 「課長補佐」 or 「首相を補佐する」. For a job title say 「アシスタント」, for a trusted right hand 「女房役」. Everyday helping is 「手伝う」 or 「助ける」; subsidies are 「補助」, and care for the elderly or sick is 「介助」. The opposite—leading rather than assisting—is 「主導」.
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
