綴じる

• Reading: とじる
• Romaji: tojiru
• Kanji breakdown: 綴 (tetsu/toji) — bind, compose, spell
• Pronunciation: /to.dʑi.ɾɯ/

Meaning

To bind; to file; to stitch together. To fasten papers or pages into a single unit.

A Group 2 (ichidan) transitive verb (綴じない, 綴じます). Used for physically binding documents, filing papers, or stitching booklets. Not to be confused with 閉じる (to close). Common phrases: 書類を綴じる (to file documents), ファイルに綴じる (to put in a binder), ホッチキスで綴じる (to staple together).

Examples

1. 会議の資料をファイルに綴じておいてください。 Please file the meeting materials in a binder.
2. レポートをホッチキスで綴じて提出した。 I stapled the report together and turned it in.
3. 古い手紙を一冊に綴じて保管している。 I bound the old letters into a single volume for safekeeping.

Usage Guide

Context: office, school, bookbinding

Tone: practical

Origin & History

The kanji 綴 (tetsu/toji) contains the thread radical 糸, reflecting the original meaning of stitching or sewing pages together with thread, as in traditional Japanese bookbinding.

Cultural Context

Era: Classical

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal