()()げる

ねりあげる
verb (ichidan, transitive)
to polish up; to refine; to perfect
他動詞 transitiveaction
Conjugation
AffirmativeNegative
Present()()げる()()げない
Present polite()()げます()()げません
Past()()げた()()げなかった
Past polite()()げました()()げませんでした
て form()()げて()()げなくて
ている present()()げている()()げていない
ている polite()()げています()()げていません
ている past()()げていた()()げていなかった
ている past polite()()げていました()()げていませんでした
Conditional ば()()げれば()()げなければ
Conditional たら()()げたら()()げなかったら
Volitional()()げよう
Volitional polite()()げましょう
Potential()()げられる()()げられない
Passive()()げられる()()げられない
Causative()()げさせる()()げさせない
Imperative()()げろ()()げるな
1. to knead thoroughly
To work dough or similar material until it reaches the desired consistency.
Please knead the dough thoroughly.
To knead clay and make a vessel.
I kneaded the bean paste until it was smooth.
2. to polish up; to refine; to perfect
To carefully develop and improve something through repeated effort.
It took weeks to refine the plan.
The author polished the text through repeated revisions.
The whole team took their time to carefully develop the strategy.

Forms

Compound verb: () (to knead, to work over) + ()げる (to carry through to completion). The ~()げる half is what adds the sense that the work has been taken all the way to a finished state, not merely begun.

Usage

The two senses

Sense 1 is the literal one — physically working dough, clay, or bean paste until its texture is right. Sense 2 is the same action applied to a plan, a text, or a strategy, and is the more common use in everyday writing. Both share the image of prolonged, repeated working; the object tells you which sense is meant.

Similar words

  • () alone describes the working itself with no implication that it is finished — 計画(けいかく)() is working on a plan, while ()()げる says it came out fully formed.
  • 仕上(しあ)げる is the general verb for finishing something off; it says nothing about the repeated kneading-over that ()()げる implies.
  • (みが) polishes a surface or a skill, not a plan or a dough.