手付かず

• Reading: てつかず
• Romaji: tetsukazu
• Kanji breakdown: 手 (te) — hand; 付 (tsu) — to touch, attach
• Pronunciation: /te.tsɯ.ka.zɯ/

Meaning

Untouched; unprocessed; not yet started. Describes something that has not been dealt with or acted upon.

A compound adjective/noun formed from 手 (hand) + 付かず (not touched). Used in business to describe backlogs, unallocated reserves, pending tasks, or natural resources that have not been developed. Carries a nuance of neglect or unexploited potential. 手付かずのまま放置する means 'to leave untouched and neglected.'

Examples

1. 繁忙期が続き、書類の山が手付かずのまま残っている。 With the busy season dragging on, the mountain of documents has been left completely untouched.
2. 手付かずの内部留保をどう活用するか、経営陣が議論した。 Management debated how to make use of untouched internal reserves.
3. 買収した子会社の問題点が手付かずで放置されていた。 Problems at the acquired subsidiary had been left unaddressed and neglected.

Usage Guide

Context: business management, finance, project planning

Tone: neutral

Origin & History

From 手 (te) meaning 'hand' and 付かず, the negative form of 付く (tsuku), meaning 'to touch' or 'to attach.' The compound literally means 'a hand has not touched it.'

Cultural Context

Era: Modern

Generation: Adults

Social background: Universal