JLPT N1 · Verb

保つ (tamotsu)

保つ (たもつ, tamotsu) is a Japanese verb meaning “to keep; to preserve”. It appears in JLPT N1 vocabulary lists and is marked as a common word in JMdict.

Reading
たもつ
Romaji
tamotsu
Word class
Godan verb (う-verb) ending in つ
Level
JLPT N1 (unofficial)

Meaning

  1. to keep; to preserve; to hold; to retain; to maintain · godan verb, transitive
  2. to last; to endure; to keep well (food); to wear well; to be durable · godan verb, intransitive

Example sentences

体面を保つために行った。
For appearances sake, I went.

Sentences from the Tatoeba project, linked to this word in JMdict.

Conjugation of 保つ

Godan verb (う-verb) ending in つ. Plain and polite forms below; try any other word in the Japanese verb conjugator.

FormJapaneseReading
Dictionary保つたもつ tamotsu
Polite (~masu)保ちますたもちます tamochimasu
Negative保たないたもたない tamotanai
Polite negative保ちませんたもちません tamochimasen
Past保ったたもった tamotta
Polite past保ちましたたもちました tamochimashita
Negative past保たなかったたもたなかった tamotanakatta
Te-form保ってたもって tamotte
Potential保てるたもてる tamoteru
Passive保たれるたもたれる tamotareru
Causative保たせるたもたせる tamotaseru
Volitional保とうたもとう tamotou
Imperative保てたもて tamote
Conditional (~ba)保てばたもてば tamoteba

Kanji in 保つ

Related words

Other vocabulary sharing a kanji with 保つ.

Source: JMdict entry 1513250 (EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0). Level: unofficial JLPT list – how levels are assigned.