溜まります（たまります、tamariまsu）
- to accumulate

The Japanese verb 溜まります, たまります, primarily means "to accumulate," "to build up," "to gather," or "to collect." It describes the state of something increasing in quantity or concentration over time, or the act of something being gathered or stored. The subject of 溜まります can be various things, such as physical objects, abstract concepts like stress, or even liquids. It also implies a passive state, that something is accumulating on its own or being passively received.

⚫︎ ゴミが溜まります。 Translation: Garbage accumulates. ⚫︎ ストレスが溜まりますね。 Translation: Stress builds up, doesn't it? (You're stressed, aren't you?) ⚫︎ ポイントが溜まります。 Translation: Points accumulate.

This verb is versatile and can be used in various contexts. ⚫︎When discussing the accumulation of physical objects or substances: For example, the accumulation of dust, dirt, or water. ⚫︎When talking about the buildup of abstract things: Such as stress, fatigue, or savings. ⚫︎When describing the passive collection of something: Like points in a rewards program, or money in an account. The particle が is typically used before 溜まります to indicate what is accumulating.

The verb 溜まります is written in hiragana as たまります. The kanji form is 溜まります, where 溜 means "to collect" or "to accumulate". The okurigana (hiragana suffix) is always まります.

⚫︎ 貯まる (たまる) - To accumulate, to save (often used for money or savings) ⚫︎ 積もる (つもる) - To accumulate (e.g., snow or experience) ⚫︎ 集まる (あつまる) - To gather, to collect (people or objects) ⚫︎ たまる (the dictionary form) ⚫︎ たまった (past tense) ⚫︎ たまって (the te-form used in many conjugations)

⚫︎ 減る (へる) - To decrease, to diminish ⚫︎ なくなる (なくなる) - To disappear, to be used up ⚫︎ なくなる (無くす) - To lose

宿題が溜まりました。 ・Translation: Homework has piled up. ・Explanation: Indicates that the homework has accumulated, likely due to not being done in a timely manner. The past tense 溜まりました is used to denote the completion of the action accumulation.

週末は疲れが溜まりやすいです。 ・Translation: It is easy for fatigue to build up on weekends. ・Explanation: This sentence illustrates how stress, fatigue, or tiredness accumulates on weekends. やすい makes it easier to accumulate.

The verb 溜まる comes from the verb stem 溜 (た) which originally meant "to pool" or "to collect (liquid)". This evolved into the more general meaning of "to accumulate" over time. The まる ending is a common suffix in Japanese verbs indicating a passive or automatic action, like accumulating on its own.