溜めます（ためます、tamemasu）
- to accumulate (transitive)

The Japanese verb 溜めます, pronounced ためます, primarily means to "accumulate," "collect," "store," or "save" something. It implies a process of gathering or building up a quantity of something over time. It can also refer to the action of holding something back, like tears or emotions. The meaning depends heavily on the context.

⚫︎ お金を貯めます Translation: I save money. ⚫︎ ポイントを溜めます Translation: I accumulate points. ⚫︎ 涙を溜めます Translation: I hold back my tears. ⚫︎ 水槽に水を溜めます Translation: I fill the aquarium with water. ⚫︎ エネルギーを溜めます Translation: I accumulate energy.

Use 溜めます when discussing the act of accumulating or storing things, whether physical (like money or water) or abstract (like points or feelings). It can be used in both formal and informal contexts, depending on the formality of the overall sentence structure. When talking about saving money, for instance, you could use 貯金します or 貯めます. 貯金します might be seen as slightly more formal.

The verb 溜めます is written as 溜めます in kanji and hiragana. The base form of the verb is 溜める (ためる). The "ます" form indicates a polite, present/future tense. There are no other ways to write it in general use. The okurigana (hiragana after the kanji) is consistent: め and then ます.

⚫︎ 貯める (ためる) - to save (money, etc.) ⚫︎ 蓄積する (ちくせきする) - to accumulate, to store up ⚫︎ 集める (あつめる) - to collect, to gather ⚫︎ ため込む (ためこむ) - to hoard, to accumulate (often in a negative sense) ⚫︎ 保持する (ほじする) - to retain, to hold (formal)

⚫︎ 使う (つかう) - to use, to spend ⚫︎ 消費する (しょうひする) - to consume ⚫︎ 放出する (ほうしゅつする) - to release ⚫︎ 失う (うしなう) - to lose

毎月、給料の10%を貯金のために溜めます。 ・Translation: Every month, I save 10% of my salary for savings. ・Explanation: This sentence uses 溜めます to describe the act of saving money.

ストレスを溜めすぎると、健康に悪い。 ・Translation: It's bad for your health to accumulate too much stress. ・Explanation: This sentence shows 溜め (the stem form of the verb) with the additional explanation to the idea of storing or accumulating emotions, referring to the negative impact of accumulated stress.

The kanji 溜 itself is composed of the radical 氵 (water) and a phonetic component. This kanji is often associated with water, such as a puddle or a pond. The original meaning of the verb 溜める (ためる) was likely related to gathering or collecting water. Over time, the meaning expanded to encompass the accumulation of other things, both tangible and intangible.