使う
つかう
tsukau
= to use; to make use of; to handle
Tools, words, money, time — in Japanese, all of them are something you tsukau. 使う covers a wider range of “using” than almost any English verb, making it one of the most versatile action words a learner will encounter at the very start of their journey.
使う is a Group 1 (godan) verb meaning to use, employ, or handle something. Its scope extends far beyond physical objects: you okane wo tsukau (spend money), jikan wo tsukau (spend time), and kotoba wo tsukau (choose and use words). This breadth is unique — English splits these ideas across “use,” “spend,” and “employ,” but Japanese funnels them all through 使う. In casual speech the verb is direct and neutral; in formal registers speakers often substitute shiyou suru (使用する) or honorific forms like o-tsukainari to signal politeness.
The most common mistake for learners is reaching for tsukaimasu only for tools while forgetting it covers time and money. Remind yourself: if English would say “spend” or “employ,” Japanese almost certainly says 使う. A second pitfall is word order — the object always comes before the verb with the particle を: pen wo tsukau, never tsukau pen wo. Also note that 使う written in hiragana alone (つかう) appears frequently in informal texts and children’s books, so recognizing both forms matters early on.
The character 使 combines the人 radical (person, written イ on the left) with 吏, an old character depicting a government official holding a brush. Together they originally conveyed a person serving under an official — someone dispatched to carry out orders. From “being put to work” the meaning shifted to “putting something to work,” giving us the modern sense of using or employing. The same character appears in 大使 (taishi, ambassador) and 使命 (shimei, mission), both of which preserve that original sense of being sent out to act on behalf of something larger.
Everyday use
この包丁は毎日使っています。
Kono hōchō wa mainichi tsukatte imasu.
I use this kitchen knife every day.
Casual / Social Media
スマホを使いすぎて、今月のデータ量がもう限界だ。
Sumaho wo tsukaisugite, kongetsu no dēta-ryō ga mō genkai da.
I’ve been using my phone too much — I’ve already hit my data limit this month.
Formal / Cultural context
会議では敬語を正しく使うことが求められます。
Kaigi de wa keigo wo tadashiku tsukau koto ga motomeraremasu.
At meetings, you are expected to use honorific language correctly.
Japanese has a dedicated compound built around 使う that has no clean English equivalent: 言葉遣い (kotobazukai), literally “the way one uses words.” The term captures the deep cultural belief that language is not merely a medium for transferring information but a reflection of one’s character, upbringing, and respect for the listener. A person with good kotobazukai is considered educated and trustworthy; poor kotobazukai — slang in a formal meeting, blunt phrasing to a senior — can permanently affect how someone is perceived in a workplace or family setting.
This consciousness extends into everyday feedback. Parents correct children’s kotobazukai at the dinner table; companies run internal manuals specifying exactly which verbs and honorifics employees should use when answering the phone. The verb 使う itself appears in these guides: keigo wo tadashiku tsukau (use honorifics correctly) is a standard instruction. Understanding 使う is therefore not just vocabulary — it is a doorway into how Japanese society thinks about the act of communication itself.