Meaning

Primary

To Obey

Alternative

To Follow

Word Type

intransitive verb, godan verb

Explanation

Because the hiragana ends with an sound, you know this word is a verb. The kanji itself means obey so the verb vocab version is to obey.

Reading

したがう
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

Since this word consists of a kanji with hiragana attached, you can bet that it will use the kun'yomi reading. You didn't learn that reading with this kanji, so here's a mnemonic to help you:

I am going to obey you. I think your order is a bit of shit (したが), I'll do it and obey you.

(Little side note, did you know in the middle of a sentence can mean "but" in Japanese? Think of it as that meaning here.)

Context

Context Sentences

もし彼の命令に従わなければ、どうなると思う?

What do you think what would happen if I didn’t obey his orders?

Kanji Composition