Core verbs — learn them through core images – Page 4 – ShareDocs

脱ぐ nu-gu Why 'peeling off one layer' means lending a hand A layer that was wrapped around the body is pulled off and set down outside it. Japanese 5 uses

帮 bāng One more hand slipping under someone else's load: 帮 Someone is holding a load alone, and your hand slides in underneath to take part of it. Chinese 5 uses

팔다 pal-da Selling umbrellas, selling your own attention What was in your hands crosses into someone else's, and a price lands where it used to be. Korean 5 uses

hang hæŋ Why ending a call means putting it back up Something is held at a single point above and trails down from it, swinging a little. English 5 uses

玩 wán Hands turning with nowhere to arrive: 玩 Your hands come off the task, and whatever is in them keeps turning for its own sake. Chinese 5 uses

drive draɪv Driving a nail and driving a car are one force Force is pushed in from behind, over and over, sending the thing the way you want it to go. English 5 uses

입다 ip-da You wear clothes — in Korean you also wear the damage Something settles over the body, wraps it, and stays on it wherever the body goes. Korean 5 uses

洗う a-ra-u The Japanese verb that washes a ledger Water runs over a surface, a hand rubs, and what was stuck there comes loose and flows off with it. Japanese 5 uses

试 shì Halfway in, ready to pull back out: 试 You put a hand or an arm halfway into something that is not yours yet, see whether it fits, and stay free to pull back out. Chinese 5 uses

ride raɪd The verb for going by someone else's motion You climb onto something that is already moving and are carried along by its motion. English 5 uses

使う tsu-ka-u In Japanese you spend your heart too Something is picked up and pushed into my task; it does the work, and that much of it is gone. Japanese 5 uses

신다 sin-da Korean has a separate verb just for your feet A foot is pushed into a hollow and ends up wrapped inside it. Korean 5 uses

忘 wàng The slot in your head went empty: 忘 You reach for the slot in your head where it should be, open it, and find nothing inside. Chinese 5 uses

作る tsu-ku-ru In Japanese you make time, literally Hands go to work on material and a shape that wasn't there stands in its place. Japanese 5 uses

벗다 beot-da Taking off shoes, taking off a false accusation Something that was lying over and clinging to you comes away, and the bare thing underneath shows. Korean 5 uses

throw θroʊ Why a party gets 'thrown' What your hand was holding is released hard and sent away from your body. English 5 uses

watch wɑːtʃ Not taking your eyes off it - that is the whole word The eyes fasten onto one thing and follow every change in it without letting go. English 5 uses

思う o-mo-u One verb for guessing, opining and missing someone A scene rises on its own inside you and sits there, untouched. Japanese 5 uses

记 jì Pressing it into a slot, in your head or on paper: 记 You catch a floating word or number and press it into a square, either in your head or on the page. Chinese 5 uses

씻다 ssit-da Washing your hands, washing away a defeat Water runs over something, carries off what was stuck to it, and leaves the clean surface behind. Korean 5 uses

懂 dǒng When what you heard clicks into place: 懂 Words come in, drop into the groove in your head, and click into place. Chinese 5 uses

考える ka-n-ga-e-ru The verb that turns things over in your head Something is set on the workbench of the mind and turned this way and that until the sides line up. Japanese 5 uses

wait weɪt The spot where time moves and you cannot Time keeps running on while you cannot take a single step out of your spot. English 5 uses

닦다 dak-da Koreans rub their teeth — and rub the groundwork too A surface is rubbed until what clung to it lifts away and the spot is left smooth. Korean 5 uses

待つ ma-tsu "Hold on!" is waiting too Walking feet stop, and the body holds that spot until the next thing arrives. Japanese 5 uses

seem siːm Reading the inside from the outside only The inside cannot be opened, so the inside is guessed from the surface that shows. English 5 uses

爱 ài The heart stacking up on one target: 爱 A scattered heart gathers in layers onto one target and sticks there. Chinese 5 uses

켜다 kyeo-da The same word lights a candle and switches on notifications A flame enters something that was dark and still, and light and sound come alive in it. Korean 5 uses

探す sa-ga-su Groping for the right word, in Japanese Something is not in sight, so the eyes and hands keep moving from place to place over it. Japanese 5 uses

怕 pà The body stepping one pace back: 怕 You see something ahead, your shoulders draw in, and a foot slides back on its own. Chinese 5 uses

끄다 kkeu-da Putting out a fire, putting out an urgent task A flame that was burning is pressed out from above, and darkness and quiet come back. Korean 5 uses

던지다 deon-ji-da Throwing a ball, throwing a question What was held in the hand is released, crosses the air, and lands over there. Korean 5 uses

笑 xiào The face curving upward: 笑 The corners of the mouth bend upward and the whole face opens along that line. Chinese 5 uses

忘れる wa-su-re-ru In Japanese you forget an umbrella on the train Something that was held in the head slips out and leaves its slot empty. Japanese 5 uses

哭 kū What filled you up spilling out of the eyes: 哭 Something has filled you to the brim and now runs over the eyelids and down the cheek. Chinese 5 uses

시키다 si-ki-da One word for ordering noodles and ordering people around You stay where you are, but your words cross over and set someone else's hands and feet moving. Korean 5 uses

覚える o-bo-e-ru In Japanese you can 'remember' a pain Something outside comes in and settles into a slot in the head or the body, and stays. Japanese 5 uses

変わる ka-wa-ru Change with no hand in the picture Something stays in its place but has crossed over into a different form, with no hand in sight. Japanese 5 uses

바꾸다 ba-kku-da Swapping a shirt, swapping your mind What was sitting in a slot is pulled out, and something else moves in and takes the place. Korean 5 uses

死 sǐ Movement crossed out and locked in place: 死 A cross is drawn over something that was moving, and it stops and stiffens right where it stood. Chinese 5 uses

고치다 go-chi-da Fixing a washing machine, fixing a habit Something that had slipped out of true and stopped is worked on by hand, set straight, and turns again. Korean 5 uses

変える ka-e-ru A hand reaches in and swaps it A hand reaches in, takes away what is sitting there, and sets something else in the same place. Japanese 5 uses

活 huó Breath and motion still attached: 活 Leave it alone and something inside keeps moving, with breath still attached to it. Chinese 5 uses

fall fɔːl Why falling asleep is the same word as falling off a ladder A hand slowly loosening its grip on a branch, and the body going down. Nothing pushes it; the thing holding it up simply lets go. English 5 uses

drop drɒp One open hand: a phone, a price, a passenger, a plan Fingers that were gripping something spread open, and the thing goes down. The one holding it is the one who lets go. English 5 uses

rise raɪz The sun, the rent, and your voice all do the same thing The sun below the horizon climbing slowly upward with nothing pushing it. It goes up because going up is what it does. English 5 uses

move muːv Moving a car and being moved by a story are one verb A desk being pushed out of the space it occupied and set down against the wall. The desk is the same; the spot is not. English 5 uses

fit fɪt The word for shoe size also books your afternoon A puzzle piece pressed into an empty slot, with nothing sticking out and nothing left over. English 5 uses

wear wer Not putting it on, but keeping it on Something put on in the morning still on the body at night. Not the instant of putting it on, but the whole day of carrying it. English 5 uses

change tʃeɪndʒ Changing your shirt, your train, and your order is one move A card lifted off the table and a different card set down in the same spot. There is only one spot; what lies on it is now something else. English 5 uses

hear hɪər Sound Arrives: Why HEAR Is Not Something You Do You are standing still and a sound flows into your ear on its own. You did not go and fetch it; it reached you. English 5 uses

listen ˈlɪsən Your Ears Are Already Open — So Why LISTEN? You turn your head and lean slightly toward where the sound is. You are not waiting for it to arrive; you are carrying your ear over to it. English 5 uses

leave liːv You Walk Out — and Something Stays Behind Your body slips out of a place while the place itself stays put. As you go, something is left standing there behind you. English 5 uses

send send You Stay Put — Only the Thing Travels A hand gives something a push toward over there. The hand stays where it is; only what was pushed goes. English 5 uses

pass pæs Why Walking Past Something Also Means Passing an Exam Something goes by the side of a point and continues on behind it. Nothing stops; a marker is simply left behind. English 5 uses

pick pɪk One Fingertip Explains All of PICK A hand reaches over things spread out below and lifts one of them with the fingertips. Out of many, one comes up with your hand. English 5 uses

cut kʌt One Blade Divides a Cake, a Budget, and the Power A blade presses down and splits one thing into two. A line appears where it was whole, and the thing comes apart along that line. English 5 uses