使う
tsu-ka-u
In Japanese you spend your heart too
The picture Something is picked up and pushed into my task; it does the work, and that much of it is gone.
Where the picture shows up in 使う
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Working a machine by hand
このコピー機を使ってもいいですか。
kono kopī-ki o tsukatte mo ii desu ka
May I use this copier?
The lid lifts, a finger settles on the button, and the machine is pulled into your own errand.
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Money leaving the wallet
先月はお金を使いすぎました。
sengetsu wa o-kane o tsukai-sugi-mashita
I spent too much last month.
Notes slide out of the wallet one by one and the fold grows thin.
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Bringing a language to work
日本語を使う仕事を探しています。
nihongo o tsukau shigoto o sagashite i-masu
I'm looking for a job where I use Japanese.
A receiver at the ear, Japanese sentences going out to the customer while the work gets done.
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Putting people on the job
今は新しい人を三人使っています。
ima wa atarashii hito o san-nin tsukatte i-masu
Right now I have three new people working for me.
Three newcomers are stood at their stations and the work is handed out among them.
With a person as the object it leans toward employing and directing them.
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Attention pushed outward
気を使ってくれてありがとう。
ki o tsukatte kurete arigatō
Thanks for being so thoughtful.
Someone reads the other's face, picks their words carefully, and slides the water glass over before it is asked for.
気を使う pictures your attention being pushed toward the other person.
All of it in one picture
使う is one picture: you pick something up and push it into your job. Put a finger on the copier and you are using it; pull notes out of the wallet and you are spending; bring a language onto the shop floor and you work in it; put new people on the line and you are employing them; push your attention toward the other person and you are being considerate. Whatever goes into the job comes out that much smaller.