How To Say "stop" In Japanese - Tomaru, Tomeru And Yameru

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Oct 17, 2018

Home - Japanese vocabulary Japanese verbs How to say "stop" in Japanese - Tomaru, Tomeru and Yameru How to say "stop" in Japanese - Tomaru, Tomeru and Yameru by Kosuke on October 17, 2018 in - Japanese vocabulary, Japanese verbs

Hello. I'm Kosuke! Today, let's learn how to say "stop" in Japanese! I recommend you to check the video below before reading this article! Click here to subscribe to this YouTube channel! Index: 1. Summary 2. Tomaru and Tomeru 3. Tomeru and Yameru 4. Similar verbs 4-1. Tachidomaru 4-2. Yamu 5. Other usages for Tomaru 5-1. Sit, Land 6. Special Kanji characters 6-1. Tomaru (泊まる) 6-2. Tomeru (停める) 6-3. Yameru (辞める) 7. Conclusion

1. Summary

In Japanese, there are a few words which mean "stop". I would like to explain about three verbs in this article. They are "tomaru", "tomeru", and "yameru". All of them mean "stop". However, their meaning is slightly different. I think it's confusing. I will explain about their difference as clearly as possible. Also, I will explain other similar verbs.

2. Tomaru and Tomeru

The basic information of Tomaru and Tomeru is below:

English	Hiragana	Romaji	Kanji
stop	とまる	to ma ru	止まる
stop	とめる	to me ru	止める

The difference is that "tomaru" is an intransitive verb, and "tomeru" is a transitive verb. An intransitive verb explains the behavior of the subject itself. On the other hand, a transitive verb explains the action to the object. So when we use transitive verb, we need to say the object of the verb explicitly. It means when we use "tomeru" we need to say the object explicitly because "tomeru" is a transitive verb. Let's see the examples! Example:

そのとけいはよくとまる。 so no to ke i wa yo ku to ma ru Meaning: "The clock often stops." 　　その: the　　とけい: clock　　よく: often　　とまる: stop Like the example above, when we use "とまる (tomaru)", we don't care who stopped the clock. The clock stopped by itself. Also, the object of the verb doesn't need to be written because "とまる (tomaru)" is an intransitive verb. You only need to say the subject (clock) and the verb (stop), for making the sentence.

わたしはそのとけいをとめる。 wa ta shi wa so no to ke i wo to me ru Meaning: "I will stop the clock." 　　わたしは: I 　　その: the 　　とけい: clock 　　とめる: stop When we use "とめる (tomeru)" instead of "とまる (tomaru)", we need to say the object explicitly. In this case, "the clock" is the object. "The clock" was the subject in the previous example for "tomaru". However, "the clock" is the object in this sentence. Object means the "target" of the action of the verb. When we say "The clock stops", there is no target of "stop" because the clock stops by itself. However, when we say "I stop the clock", "the clock" is the target of my action "stop". In Japanese, "を (wo)" needs to be put right after the object. So in this case, "とけいを (tokei wo)" is used. If you want to know about "を (wo)", please check this: Particle を(wo) >> Like the examples, when we say "tomaru", the subject stops by itself! When we say "tomeru", the object is stopped by the subject, so we need to say the object explicitly!

3. Tomeru and Yameru

I already spoke about "tomeru", which is a transitive verb meaning "stop". There is another transitive verb, which also means "stop", in Japanese. It is "yameru". Let's check their basic information!

English	Hiragana	Romaji	Kanji
stop	とめる	to me ru	止める
stop, quit	やめる	ya me ru	止める

If we write them in Kanji, both are "止める", and both mean "stop". Also, both are transitive verbs. So we need to write an object and "を(wo)". "Tomeru" and "Yameru" are very similar. However, their meaning is slightly different. When we say "tomeru", it usually means "stopping temporarily". It means that it will start again after stopping for a while. On the other hand, when we say "yameru", basically, it won't start anymore. "Yameru" is often used when someone stops doing something because they found that it is boring, or they can't get enough benefit by doing it. Because they already found there is no meaning to continue, they probably won't do it anymore. So "Yameru" is similar to "quit". Let's see the examples! Example:

わたしはそのタスクをとめる。 wa ta shi wa so no ta su ku wo to me ru Meaning: "I will stop the task." 　　わたしは: I　　その: the　　タスク: task　　とめる: stop In this example, "とめる(tomeru)" is used. So the task is just being stopped temporarily. Maybe, it will start again after a while. わたしはそのタスクをやめる。 wa ta shi wa so no ta su ku wo ya me ru Meaning: "I will quit the task." 　　その: the 　　タスク: task 　　やめる: stop, quit In this example, "やめる (yameru)" is used instead of "とめる (tomeru)". So the task will not be started again. Maybe, the speaker found that there is no meaning to continue to do the task anymore. Like the examples above, "tomeru" means "stop temporarily"! "Yameru" means "quit"!

4. Similar verbs

Please let me explain about two verbs similar to "tomaru". They are "tachidomaru" and "yamu".

English	Hiragana	Romaji	Kanji
stop, stand still	たちどまる	tachidomaru	立ち止まる
stop	やむ	yamu	止む

4-1. Tachidomaru

When someone stops walking, and when they stand still, it is called "tachidomaru".If we write it in Kanji, it's "立ち止まる (tachidomaru)". "立ち (tachi)" means "stand". "止まる (domaru)" means "stop". Example:

かれはよくあるきつかれてとつぜんたちどまる。 ka re wa yo ku a ru ki tsu ka re te to tsu ze n ta chi do ma ru Meaning: "He often gets tired of walking and stops suddenly." 　　he: かれは　　often: よく　　get tired of walking: あるきつかれて　　suddenly: とつぜん　　stop: たちどまる Like the example above, when we say "stop walking", we say "tachidomaru".

4-2. Yamu

There is another way to say "stop" in Japanese. It is "止む (yamu)". The same Kanji as "tomaru" is used for "yamu", too. However, "yamu" is used only for "rain" or "snow". Example:

あめはあしたやむ。 a me wa a shi ta ya mu Meaning: "It will stop raining tomorrow." 　　あめ: rain　　あした: tomorrow　　やむ: stop Like the example above, if you want to say "stop raining", you should use "yamu" instead of "tomaru".

5. Other usages for Tomaru

Actually, "tomaru" is a verb which has many meanings. Let's check an example of other meanings of "tomaru"!

5-1. Sit, Land

If the subject is an insect or a small animal, "tomaru" will probably mean "sitting on" or "landing on". For this usage, the same Kanji, "止まる", is used. However, in this case, Hiragana is usually used in order to distinguish it from the normal usage of "tomaru". Let's check the examples! Example:

ちょうがはなにとまる。 cho u ga ha na ni to ma ru Meaning: "A butterfly is landing on the flower." 　　ちょう: butterfly　　はな: flower 　　に: on　　とまる: land

とりがえだにとまっている。 to ri ga e da ni to ma t te i ru Meaning: "The birds are sitting on a branch." 　　とり: bird 　　えだ: branch 　　に: on 　　とまっている: are sitting Like the examples above, if the subject of the sentence is an insect or a small animal, "tomaru" means "sitting" or "landing"!

6. Special Kanji characters

In this article, we learned "tomaru", "tomeru", and "yameru". They are a little confusing, aren't they? In addition to that, if you want to write them in Kanji, there are some cases to be careful. In some instances, the Kanji character "止" is not used. Let's check the special Kanji characters for them!

6-1. Tomaru (泊まる)

When you hear the Japanese sound "tomaru", it sometimes means "stay". For example, "tomaru" can mean "stay at the hotel". However, in this case, the Kanji is not "止まる". The Kanji for "stay" is "泊まる (tomaru)". So actually, they are not the same verbs. However, their sound is completely the same. Example:

わたしはそのりょかんにとまる。 wa ta shi wa so no ryo ka n ni to ma ru Meaning: "I will stay at the hotel." 　　わたしは: I 　　その: the 　　りょかん: Japanese style hotel 　　に: at 　　とまる（泊まる）: stay Like the example above, "tomaru" sometimes means "stay". The pronunciation of this "tomaru" is completely the same as the "tomaru" which means "stop". Please don't be confused!

6-2. Tomeru (停める)

When we stop a car, the Kanji character "停" is used instead of "止". Example:

わたしはがっこうのまえでくるまをとめる。 wa ta shi wa ga k ko u no ma e de ku ru ma wo to me ru Meaning: "I will stop my car in front of the school." 　　わたしは: I 　　がっこう: school 　　のまえで: in front of 　　くるま: car 　　とめる（停める）: stop Like the example above, when we stop the car, "停める (tomeru)" is often used. However, "止める(tomeru)" can also be used for a car. So when you write "stopping a car" in Japanese, whichever is understandable. Actually, in Japanese traffic signs, both "止" and "停" are used. So you should remember both Kanji characters if you drive a car on Japanese streets.

6-3. Yameru (辞める)

We already learned "止める (yameru)" for saying "stop" or "quit". However, when we quit our job, a different Kanji character must be used. It is "辞める (yameru)". As well as "止める (yameru)", "辞める (yameru)" also means "quit". However, it is only used when quitting a job. Example:

わたしはらいしゅうしごとをやめる。 wa ta shi wa ra i shu u shi go to wo ya me ru Meaning: "I will quit my job next week." 　　わたしは: I 　　らいしゅう: next week 　　しごと: job 　　やめる（辞める）: quit In this case, the Kanji "止" can't be used. "辞" needs to be used when quitting a job.

7. Conclusion

Please remember three verbs for saying "stop".

"Tomaru" is an intransitive verb to say "stop"!

"Tomeru" is a transitive verb to say "stop temporarily"!

"Yameru" is a transitive verb to say "quit"!

In addition to the three verbs, please remember the information below!

When you stop walking, "tachidomaru" is used!

When it stops raining, "yamu" is used!

"Tomaru" also means that insects or small animals are sitting or landing!

When the "tomaru" means "stay", "泊まる (tomaru)" is used, instead of "止まる (tomaru)"!

When you stop a car, "停める (tomeru)" can be used, instead of "止める (tomeru)"!

When we quit our job, "辞める (yameru)" is used, instead of "止める (yameru)"!

How confusing!!!!haha By the way, Tomaru is in the range of JLPT N5 test!If you want to know more verbs for JLPT N5, including Tomaru, please check the video below! Click here to subscribe to this YouTube channel! I hope this article helps you to study Japanese!Please enjoy studying Japanese! Share This: Facebook Twitter Google+ Pinterest Linkedin Whatsapp Japanese verbs By Kosuke 時刻: October 17, 2018

ラベル: - Japanese vocabulary, Japanese verbs

14 comments:

Twilight ManOctober 18, 2018 at 12:23 AM
Oh boy, this is not easy to remember all the various "STOPS" but I will remember now that I cannot simply use "stop" in Japanese conversations. I am so glad to be able to learn from you as the text language books don;t explain so much interesting details with photos like your blog! Domo Arigatogozaimus Kosuke-San!
ReplyDeleteReplies
1. KosukeOctober 18, 2018 at 1:16 AM
  I am sorry, but this topic was difficult to explain simply...(^^;)Thank you always for reading, TWILIGHT MAN-san!
  DeleteReplies
cuonglc92September 12, 2019 at 12:57 AM
The explanation is just great! Thank you very much!
ReplyDeleteReplies
1. KosukeSeptember 28, 2019 at 3:56 AM
  Thank you for reading my article!I hope it helps you!(^^)
  DeleteReplies
KTayApril 15, 2020 at 3:05 PM
I googled the difference between yamu and tomaru and found this page. It is clear and concise with straightforward and practical examples. Thanks Kosuke-san!
ReplyDeleteReplies
1. KosukeApril 19, 2020 at 4:32 AM
  Thank you for your comment!(^^)I'm glad that this article helped you!Thank you!
  DeleteReplies
FriscaJune 3, 2020 at 7:08 PM
woooowhow difficult it is just to say stop in Japanesebtw thank you so much for this useful informationI still learning Japanese in basic. Hehe
ReplyDeleteReplies
1. KosukeAugust 5, 2020 at 5:12 AM
  Yeah, it's kind of confusing...hahaThank you for reading my blog, FRISCA-san!(^^)
  DeleteReplies
PhilliamNovember 6, 2020 at 5:32 AM
This was very helpful even thought there's a lot to take in. I'm glad to see there are many like me who wanted to learn the differences between yameru and tomeru
ReplyDeleteReplies
1. KosukeNovember 11, 2020 at 12:56 AM
  Thank you for reading my blog, PHILLIAM-san!(^^)I hope this helps you!
  DeleteReplies
AidanFebruary 1, 2021 at 9:59 PM
Thank you for the information! So when someone is reading aloud, and they see 「止める」, how are they to know whether to read it as やめる or とめる? Is it always clear from the context which is the intended reading? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteReplies
1. KosukeFebruary 2, 2021 at 9:07 PM
  Thank you for reading!(^^)We need to judge it from the context...(^^;)However, in Japanese news paper, the use 止める for とめる, and they use hiragana for やめる in order to prevent misunderstanding...
  DeleteReplies
DéboraAugust 6, 2021 at 11:05 AM
Thank you so much for this lesson, really helpful!!
ReplyDeleteReplies
1. KosukeAugust 11, 2021 at 4:02 PM
  Thank you!I'm glad that this article helped you(^^)
  DeleteReplies

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About Me

Kosuke I am a Japanese man. I worked as a programmer in Japan and the Philippines. I hope this blog helps you study Japanese! View my complete profile

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