1.
to consist of; to be composed of
to be formed or made up of certain elements
社会は人と人の関係で成り立っている。
Society consists of relationships between people.
日本語は漢字、ひらがな、カタカナで成り立っている。
Japanese consists of kanji, hiragana, and katakana.
2.
to hold true; to be valid; to work
for an argument, agreement, or system to function properly
この理論は成り立たない。
This theory doesn't hold.
商売が成り立つか心配だ。
I'm worried about whether the business will work.
契約は双方の合意で成り立つ。
A contract is valid when both parties agree.
その言い訳は成り立たない。
That excuse doesn't hold up.
成り立つ describes something being composed of elements or being valid/functional.
VERB TYPE:
- Godan verb (つ-verb)
- Intransitive
COMPOSITION:
- 成る (to become) + 立つ (to stand)
SENSE 1 VS SENSE 2:
- Sense 1: Composition (what something consists of)
- Sense 2: Validity/functionality (whether something works)
COMMON PATTERNS:
- ～で成り立つ (to consist of ~)
- ～が成り立つ (~ is valid)
- 成り立たない (doesn't hold, doesn't work)
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 理論が成り立つ (theory holds)
- 契約が成り立つ (contract is valid)
- 商売が成り立つ (business is viable)
- 議論が成り立たない (argument doesn't hold)
NEGATIVE FORM:
- 成り立たない is very common
- Used to dismiss invalid arguments or unworkable situations
RELATED COMPOUND VERBS:
- 成り上がる (to rise in status)
- 成り下がる (to sink, become degraded)
RELATED TERMS:
- 構成される (to be composed of - formal)
- 通用する (to be valid - more general)
- 機能する (to function)
REGISTER: Neutral. Common in both spoken and written Japanese.