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up と down(から、へ) Up Finishes It, Down Settles It

Prepositions

up と down はしますが、むとます。up は「までやりきる」、down は「まる・する」。eat up はさずべること、calm down はちがまること、write down はというろすこと。が、そのままびています。

Up and down mark direction, but paired with a verb they take on another role. Up means carrying something through to the end; down means settling, or setting something down on a surface. Eat up is finishing the plate, calm down is emotion subsiding, and write down puts words onto the page. The directional picture stretches straight into the figurative one.

までけば、わり

All the Way Up Means Done

up がすのは、までしたというからです。コップにいでまでたら、それりません。eat up / use up / fill up / clean up は、どれも「もうっていない」ところまでくこと。down はそので、がってちも、も、も、がればまります。write down だけはって、というろすきです。

Up marks completion because of the picture of reaching the top. Fill a glass to the rim and there's no room left. Eat up, use up, fill up, and clean up all mean going as far as there is to go. Down runs the other way, toward settling: feelings, speed, and volume all quieten as they come down. Write down is slightly different — it's the motion of setting words onto the surface of the page.

から From direction to figure

Finish up your soup before it gets cold.

めないうちにスープをみきって。

の up。さず、というところまでく。 Completion up: go all the way, leaving nothing.

Calm down and tell me what happened.

いて、があったかして。

の down。ぶりががる Settling down: agitation coming back to earth.

Let me write your number down.

えさせてください。

の down。というろすき。 Recording down: setting it onto the surface of the page.

up(までやりきる)

までする。りをなくす Reaching the limit, leaving nothing behind.

We used up all the printer paper.

コピー使ってしまった。

down(まる・ろす)

いががる、またはろす。 Intensity dropping, or something set onto a surface.

Could you turn the music down?

げてもらえますか。

よくある Common Mistake

I wrote up his number on a napkin.

をナプキンにめた。(のつもりで)

I wrote down his number on a napkin.

をナプキンにめた。

down は「ろす」なので、めるは write down。write up はの up で「まとめげる」です(write up a report =げる)。でもわれば——up の「」と down の「」という2つのが、write のしています。なおをどこにくか(look it up と look up the word)は「」のです。

Down sets words onto the page, so noting something is write down. Write up is the completion up: writing something into finished form, as in write up a report. Same verb, different particle, different verb — the completion line of up and the recording line of down cross right on top of write. Where the object goes (look it up, look up the word) has its own entry on phrasal-verb word order.

  • eat up / use up べきる/使 の up。りがなくなるところまでく。 Completion up: going until nothing is left.
  • calm down / slow down く/とす の down。いががる Settling down: intensity coming back to earth.
  • write down / note down める の down。というろすき。 Recording down: onto the surface of the page.
  • come up to ... 〜に 接近の up。ではなくまるき。 Approach up: distance closing, with nothing vertical about it.

まとめ Summary

  • up はまで、つまりす。 Up reaches the limit, which is to say completion.
  • down はまる、またはろすき。 Down settles things, or sets them onto a surface.
  • write down =める、write up =げる。ける。 Write down records; write up completes. The particle makes the verb.
  • (look it up)は「」の Where the object goes (look it up) lives in the phrasal-verb word-order entry.

: 2026-07-25 Last checked: 2026-07-25