成長します（せいちょうします、seichoushimasu）
- to grow

The Japanese word 成長します, pronounced せいちょうします (seichō shimasu), means "to grow," "to develop," or "to mature." It describes the process of becoming bigger, better, or more advanced over time. This can apply to physical growth, skill development, personal maturity, or even the expansion of a company or organization. It implies a positive change and improvement. The verb is a polite form used in formal or casual situations. The core meaning is about progress and evolution.

⚫︎ 子供が 成長しました Translation: The child has grown up. ⚫︎ 植物が太陽の光を浴びて 成長します Translation: Plants grow by basking in the sunlight. ⚫︎ 彼女は仕事を通してスキルを 成長させています Translation: She is developing her skills through her work.

⚫︎ 成長します is used in various contexts to express development, improvement, or progress. ⚫︎ It is appropriate in both formal and informal conversations. ⚫︎ It's often used when talking about living beings (people, animals, plants), but it can also be used metaphorically for companies, projects, or skills. ⚫︎ You can use different tenses of the verb to indicate when the growth occurred: ⚫︎ 成長しました (seichō shimashita) - grew/developed (past tense). ⚫︎ 成長しています (seichō shiteimasu) - is growing/developing (present continuous). ⚫︎ 成長するでしょう (seichō suru deshou) - will grow/develop (future, with some uncertainty).

⚫︎ The word 成長します is typically written in kanji 成長 and hiragana します. ⚫︎ The kanji 成長 is composed of 成 (sei), meaning "to become" or "to achieve," and 長 (chō), meaning "long" or "to grow." ⚫︎ The verb します is the polite form of the verb する (suru), meaning "to do." ⚫︎ 成長 can also be used as a noun, meaning "growth" or "development". ⚫︎ There are no significant variations in the okurigana.

⚫︎ 発展します (hattatsu shimasu) - to develop, to expand (more focused on progress and advancement) ⚫︎ 育ちます (sodachimasu) - to grow up (used for living things, focusing on nurturing) ⚫︎ 伸びます (nobimasu) - to grow, to extend (often used for physical growth or expansion) ⚫︎ 進歩します (shinpo shimasu) - to make progress, to advance

⚫︎ 衰退します (suitai shimasu) - to decline, to deteriorate (opposite of progress) ⚫︎ 退化します (taika shimasu) - to degenerate, to atrophy (to become worse)

彼はビジネスの経験を通して大きく成長しました。 ・Translation: He has grown significantly through his business experience. ・Explanation: This sentence describes the positive development of a person's skills and abilities through practical experience.

この会社は過去数年間で著しく成長しています。 ・Translation: This company has grown remarkably in the past few years. ・Explanation: This example indicates the expansion or advancement of a company over a period of time.

The kanji 成長 is a compound word. The first kanji 成(sei) originally meant "to become" or "to form," while the second kanji 長 (chō) initially meant "long" or "to grow." When combined, 成長 came to represent the concept of becoming longer or bigger, which then evolved into the broader meaning of growth and development.