司る

司る

Japanese

Kanji in this term
司
つかさど Grade: 4
kun’yomi

Alternative forms

• 掌る (less common)

Etymology

Compound of 官 (tsukasa, “position of authority”) +‎ 取る (toru, “to take”).[1][2] The toru changes to doru as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

Pronunciation

• Kun’yomi
  • (Tokyo) つかさど​る [tsùkásádóꜜrù] (Nakadaka – [4])[2][3]
  • IPA^(key): [t͡sɨᵝka̠sa̠do̞ɾɯ̟ᵝ]

Verb

司る (transitive, godan conjugation, hiragana つかさどる, rōmaji tsukasadoru)

1. To manage or be in charge of a role or job, in a position of responsibility.

   会計事務 (かいけいじむ)を司 (つかさど)る者 (もの)

   kaikei jimu o tsukasadoru mono

   the person in charge of or responsible for the accounting work

2. To rule, control, or administer people or things, from a position of authority.

   生 (せい)死 (し)を司 (つかさど)る神 (かみ)

   seishi o tsukasadoru kami

   the god controlling life and death

3. (biology) To carry out a role, to serve a function, as done by an organ of the body.

   呼 (こ)吸 (きゅう)を司 (つかさど)る臓 (ぞう)器 (き)は肺 (はい)です。

   Kokyū o tsukasadoru zōki wa hai desu.

   The organ that handles breathing is the lungs.

Conjugation

Conjugation of "司る" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs.)

Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形)	司ら	つかさどら	tsukasadora
Continuative (連用形)	司り	つかさどり	tsukasadori
Terminal (終止形)	司る	つかさどる	tsukasadoru
Attributive (連体形)	司る	つかさどる	tsukasadoru
Hypothetical (仮定形)	司れ	つかさどれ	tsukasadore
Imperative (命令形)	司れ	つかさどれ	tsukasadore
Key constructions
Passive	司られる	つかさどられる	tsukasadorareru
Causative	司らせる 司らす	つかさどらせる つかさどらす	tsukasadoraseru tsukasadorasu
Potential	司れる	つかさどれる	tsukasadoreru
Volitional	司ろう	つかさどろう	tsukasadorō
Negative	司らない	つかさどらない	tsukasadoranai
Negative continuative	司らず	つかさどらず	tsukasadorazu
Formal	司ります	つかさどります	tsukasadorimasu
Perfective	司った	つかさどった	tsukasadotta
Conjunctive	司って	つかさどって	tsukasadotte
Hypothetical conditional	司れば	つかさどれば	tsukasadoreba

Synonyms

• (rule, control):
  • 担当 (しはい)する (shihai suru)
  • 統轄 (とうかつ)する (tōkatsu suru)
  • 管 (かん)理 (り)する (kanri suru)
• (manage, be responsible for):
  • 担 (たん)当 (とう)する (tantō suru)
  • 引 (ひ)き受 (う)ける (hikiukeru)
  • 請 (う)け負 (お)う (ukeou)

References

1. 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
2. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
3. 1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

• 2002, Ineko Kondō; Fumi Takano; Mary E Althaus; et. al., Shogakukan Progressive Japanese-English Dictionary, Third Edition, Tokyo: Shōgakukan, →ISBN.