VocabularyJLPT N5 · core

届く

とどく

hepburn todoku

to reach, to be delivered

Part of speech · godan-verb

Pattern visualization

no decomposition available

Examples

荷物が届きました。
The package has arrived.
高い棚に手が届かない。
I can't reach the high shelf.

Collocations

届く (todoku, reach / arrive, intransitive)届ける (todokeru, deliver, transitive)荷物が届く (nimotsu ga todoku, package arrives)手が届く (te ga todoku, within reach)声が届く (koe ga todoku, voice carries)

Mnemonic

Todoku (届く) is the Japanese intransitive verb for "arrive / reach / carry (of sound)." The kanji 届 combines 尸 and 由 (cause, reach). Transitivity pair: todoku ↔ todokeru (届ける, deliver, transitive). Senses: (1) physical delivery ("nimotsu ga todoku" the package arrives, "tegami ga todoku" the letter arrives); (2) bodily reach ("te ga todoku / todokanai" within / out of reach); (3) sound or message carrying ("koe ga todoku" the voice carries, "omoi ga todoku" feelings get through); (4) abstract reach ("doryoku ga todoku" effort bears fruit, "me ga todoku" attention reaches). A core verb of Japan's parcel-delivery culture — Yamato Transport (Kuroneko Yamato, 1976), Sagawa Express, and others built the East Asian benchmark in time-slot delivery (gozen-chuu, 14–16 ji) and re-delivery (sai-haitatsu) systems. English arrive / reach and Chinese 到达 / 送达 map.

Quick check

Meaning of "gozen-chuu" in Japanese parcel delivery?