Yameru meaning can vary depending on the kanji expression, explained

What does “yameru” mean in Japanese?

Basically, it is used to mean ‘to stop’ what you are doing at the moment. But, its meaning can vary depending on the kanji expression. In this blog post, I will explain its two different kanji expressions. And also, I will explain how to use it through examples. Let’s get started!

Contents

• Yameru: to stop what you are doing
• Example #1: how to say stop in Japanese
• Example #2: how to say “quit smoking” in Japanese
• Yameru: to resign, to quit or to retire
• Example #3: how to say resign in Japanese
• Summary of yameru

Yameru: to stop what you are doing

First, let me start with “yameru” which is used to mean ‘to stop what you are doing’.

• yameru – 止める (やめる) : a verb meaning ‘to stop’, ‘to discontinue’, ‘to end’ or ‘to quit’ in Japanese.

When “yameru” is written as “止める” in kanji, most probably it means just ‘to stop’ in Japanese. In many cases, it is used to mean ‘to stop what you are doing at the moment’. In this regard, it is quite similar to “stop” in English. Depending on context, however, it can also mean ‘to discontinue’, ‘to end’ or ‘to quit’.

To understand it a bit more, let me explain how to use it through the example sentences below.

Example #1: how to say stop in Japanese

Below are new words used in the example sentence.

• watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case maker or topic maker. In the example, it is put after the pronoun, “watashi”, to make the subject word in the sentence.
• dokusho – 読書 (どくしょ) : a noun meaning ‘reading’ in Japanese. Learn more about “dokusho”.
• wo – を : a case particle used to make the object word in a sentence. In the example, it is put after the noun, “dokusho”, to make the object word in the sentence and to indicate what “watashi” stopped. It is written as “wo”, but its actual pronunciation is “o”.
• yame – 止め (やめ) : one conjugation of the verb, “yameru”, which means ‘to stop’ in Japanese. In the example, it is used to mean ‘to stop’ reading. It has been conjugated for a better connection with its following word.
• ta – た : an auxiliary verb put after a verb, adjective or auxiliary verb to make its past tense. In the example, it is put after the conjugated verb, “yame”, to make its past tense, “yame ta”, which means ‘to have stopped’. Perhaps, it is well known for a part of Japanese ta form.

This is a typical usage of “yameru”. In the example sentence, it is used to mean to stop reading, in other words, what “watashi” was doing at the moment. As the translation shows, it corresponds very well to “stop”.

Example #2: how to say “quit smoking” in Japanese

Below are new words used in the example sentence.

• kare – 彼 (かれ) : a pronoun meaning ‘he’ in Japanese.
• tabako – タバコ (たばこ) : a noun meaning ‘cigarette’ or ‘tobacco’ in Japanese. Depending on context, it can also mean an act of smoking.
• wo – を : the same as explained in the last example. Here, it is put after the noun, “tabako”, to indicate what “kare” quitted.

This is another typical usage of “yameru”. Again, it is used together with the auxiliary verb, “ta”, to form its past tense.

The Japanese expression, “tabako wo yameru”, has a kind of idiomatic meaning, ‘to quit smoking’. So, its past tense, “tabako wo yame ta”, can be used to mean ‘to have quitted smoking’. From this expression, we can understand that “yameru” can also be used to mean ‘to quit a habit’ depending on context.

Yameru: to resign, to quit or to retire

Then, let me explain another kanji expression of “yameru”.

• yameru – 辞める (やめる) : a verb meaning ‘to resign’, ‘to quit’ or ‘to retire’ in Japanese.

When “yameru” is written as “辞める” in kanji, basically it means ‘to leave office’ in general.

To understand it a bit more, let me explain how to use it through the example below.

Example #3: how to say resign in Japanese

Below are new words used in the example sentence.

• no – の : a case particle put after a noun to make its possessive case. In the example, it is put after the pronoun, “watashi”, to make its possessive case, “watashi no”, which mean ‘my’ in Japanese. Learn more about “watashi no”.
• joushi – 上司 (じょうし) : a noun meaning ‘boss’ in Japanese.
• kyou – 今日 (きょう) : a noun meaning ‘today’ in Japanese. It can also be used as an adverb and inserted almost anywhere in a sentence to mean ‘today’. In the example, it is used as an adverb.
• kaisha – 会社 (かいしゃ) : a noun meaning ‘company’ in Japanese

This is a typical usage of “yameru” written as “辞める” in kanji. The expression, “kaisha wo yameru”, can literally be translated as ‘to quit the company’. But, it is often used to mean just ‘to resign’ as the example shows.

Summary of yameru

In this blog post, I’ve explained “yameru” in detail based on its two different kanji expressions. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.

• yameru – 止める (やめる) : a verb meaning ‘to stop’, ‘to discontinue’, ‘to end’ or ‘to quit’ in Japanese. In many cases, it is used to mean ‘to stop what you are doing at the moment’. In this regard, it is quite similar to “stop” in English. Depending on context, however, it can also mean ‘to discontinue’, ‘to end’ or ‘to quit’.
• yameru – 辞める (やめる) : a verb meaning ‘to resign’, ‘to quit’ or ‘to retire’ in Japanese. Basically it means ‘to leave office’ in general.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.