板(いた)

いた
noun
board, plank, plate
tool
1. board, plank
A flat piece of wood or other material.
木(き)の板(いた)を切(き)る。
To cut a wooden board.
板(いた)の間(ま)に座(すわ)る。
To sit on the wooden floor.
板(いた)の間(ま) = wooden floor
板(いた)挟(ばさ)みになる。
To be caught between two sides.
Idiom
2. plate, sheet
A flat piece of metal or other material.
To bend an iron plate.
It is made from a thin metal sheet.
Letters were engraved on a copper plate.

板(いた) refers to a flat piece of material, primarily wood but also metal or other substances.

Compounds

Common expressions

  • 板(いた)挟(ばさ)み: caught between two parties (lit. "sandwiched between boards")
  • 板(いた)に付(つ)く: to become well-suited to a role; to look natural doing something

Usage

When unqualified, 板(いた) usually implies a wooden board. For other materials, the material is specified: 鉄(てつ)の板(いた) (iron plate), ガラスの板(いた) (glass plate).