届ける

• Reading: とどける
• Romaji: todokeru
• Kanji breakdown: 届 (kai/todo) — to reach, to deliver, to notify
• Pronunciation: /to.do.ke.ɾɯ/

Meaning

To deliver; to forward; to send. The act of bringing something to someone or reporting to authorities.

A Group 2 (ichidan) transitive verb, the counterpart of intransitive 届く. Conjugated by dropping る and adding the appropriate ending. Used for physically delivering items, submitting official forms (届け出る), and reporting incidents to police.

Examples

1. お弁当を届けてくれますか。 Could you deliver the lunch box for me?
2. 忘れ物を交番に届けました。 I turned in a lost item at the police box.
3. 毎朝新聞を届けています。 I deliver newspapers every morning.

Usage Guide

Context: delivery, errands, official reporting

Tone: neutral

Origin & History

Shares the kanji 届 with 届く. The transitive form adds the active sense of causing something to reach its destination, reflecting the Japanese grammatical pattern of intransitive/transitive verb pairs.

Cultural Context

Era: Ancient

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal