1.
intermediary; agent; go-between
A person or company that acts as a middleman between two parties, facilitating transactions or communication.
出版取次が書店に本を届ける。
The publishing distributor delivers books to bookstores.
この会社は海外製品の取次をしている。
This company acts as an agent for overseas products.
日本の出版業界では、取次が出版社と書店の間を結ぶ重要な役割を果たしている。
In Japan's publishing industry, distributors play an important role connecting publishers and bookstores.
2.
passing on a message; relaying a visitor; reception
The act of receiving a visitor or phone call and connecting them to the intended person, or relaying a message between parties.
来客の取次をお願いします。
Please receive the visitor for me.
電話の取次をする。
To transfer a phone call.
受付で取次を頼んだが、担当者は会議中で出られなかった。
I asked the reception desk to put me through, but the person in charge was in a meeting and couldn't come out.
From the verb 取り次ぐ (to relay, to act as intermediary). In the Japanese publishing industry, 取次 specifically refers to book distributors (wholesalers) that stand between publishers and bookstores — companies like トーハン and 日本出版販売 (日販). In office settings, it refers to the act of receiving visitors or transferring phone calls.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 出版取次: book distributor/wholesaler
- 電話の取次: transferring a phone call
- 来客の取次: receiving a visitor
- 取次店: agency, agent shop
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 仲介: mediation, brokerage — arranging deals between parties
- 代理: agency, representation — acting on behalf of another
- 問屋: wholesaler — a general wholesale business