とどける (届ける): One Verb, Many Meanings (with Examples)
Why one verb has so many meanings
At first glance "deliver a package" and "report to the police" feel like two unrelated ideas. But 届ける has one thread running through all of it: you make something arrive at the place it belongs.
A package gets to the customer. A lost wallet gets to the police station. A piece of news gets to the city office. Whether it's an object you carry or information you submit, you're the one who brings it across the gap so it reaches its destination. Hold that "make X reach Y" image and the meanings below stop looking like a random list.
One structural note before we start: 届ける is the transitive verb (you do it to something). It has an intransitive twin, 届く ("something arrives / reaches on its own"), which we'll compare at the end — it's a classic JLPT trap.
The meanings, most common first
1. To deliver / bring (荷物を届ける)
ヤッタンはモチに荷物を届けた。
ヤッタンは モチに にもつを とどけた。
Yattan delivered the package to Mochi.
2. To take / hand a letter to someone (手紙を届ける)
弟は先生に手紙を届けた。
おとうとは せんせいに てがみを とどけた。
My little brother took the letter to the teacher.
届ける covers carrying something to a person by hand, not just courier delivery.
3. To return / bring a lost item to its owner (届ける)
モチは落とし物を交番に届けた。
モチは おとしものを こうばんに とどけた。
Mochi took the lost item to the police box.
交番 (こうばん) is a neighborhood police box — the normal place to hand in things you find.
4. To report / notify the police (警察に届ける)
ヤッタンは財布を盗まれて、警察に届けた。
ヤッタンは さいふを ぬすまれて、けいさつに とどけた。
Yattan had his wallet stolen, so he reported it to the police.
Here 届ける means to make an official report, not to carry an object.
5. To file / submit officially (役所に届ける)
先生は引っ越しを役所に届けた。
せんせいは ひっこしを やくしょに とどけた。
The teacher reported the move to the city office.
役所 (やくしょ) = city/ward office. Many life events (moving, marriage, birth) must be 届ける-ed there.
6. To get something to reach far away (とどける)
ヤッタンは応援の声をチームに届けたいと思った。
ヤッタンは おうえんの こえを チームに とどけたいと おもった。
Yattan wanted to get his cheering voice across to the team.
A slightly figurative use: making a feeling or message reach someone.
Notice that meanings 4 and 5 are really the same idea as delivering a package — you're making information reach an office instead of making a box reach a doorstep. The related noun 届け (とどけ) even means "a notification / report," and you'll see official forms called things like 婚姻届 (marriage registration).
Common collocations worth memorizing
Some 届ける phrases are fixed enough that it's worth learning them as chunks:
| Collocation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 荷物を届ける | to deliver a package |
| 手紙を届ける | to deliver / take a letter |
| 落とし物を届ける | to hand in a lost item |
| 警察に届ける | to report to the police |
| 役所に届ける | to notify the city office |
| 声を届ける | to get one's voice / message across |
Kanji & related verbs
The kanji is 届 ("to reach / to deliver"), used for both 届ける and its intransitive partner 届く. The same character writes the noun 届け (a report/notification) and compounds like 届け出る (とどけでる, "to report / file," a more formal verb).
Watch the pairing rather than look-alike kanji here — the thing that trips learners up is not a different kanji, but the transitive/intransitive pair built on this one kanji:
- 届ける (とどける, transitive, Group 2 ru-verb) — I deliver / report it.
- 届く (とどく, intransitive, Group 1 う-verb) — it arrives / reaches (on its own).
届ける vs 届く — the trap
These two share the kanji 届 but behave oppositely, and the JLPT loves testing them. The difference is who's doing it — and they're even different verb groups:
| Form | Core idea | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 届ける (transitive, ru-verb) | Someone makes something reach a destination | 荷物を届ける = (I) deliver the package |
| 届く (intransitive, u-verb) | Something arrives / reaches a place on its own | 荷物が届く = the package arrives |
A neat way to feel it: with 届ける there's a person who carries or submits it (object marked with を); with 届く the thing just gets there (subject marked with が).
届く also has a couple of very useful "reach" senses worth knowing:
- 手が届く (てが とどく) — to be able to reach with your hand (棚の本に手が届く = I can reach the book on the shelf). Figuratively it also means "within reach / affordable."
- 目が届く (めが とどく) — for one's attention/supervision to reach (先生の目が届く = the teacher can keep an eye on everything).
- 声が届く (こえが とどく) — for a voice to carry far enough to be heard.
So when you push the action, use 届ける; when something simply makes it there, use 届く.
Quick recap
- One image powers it all: make X reach its destination.
- Two big meanings: deliver / bring (荷物・手紙) and officially report / notify (警察・役所).
- High-value chunks: 荷物を届ける, 警察に届ける, 役所に届ける.
- It's a transitive ru-verb; its partner 届く is an intransitive u-verb (荷物が届く, 手が届く, 目が届く).
Your turn
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Start the 5-question drill →Frequently asked questions
Is 届ける a ru-verb or u-verb?
届ける (とどける) is a Group 2 (ru-verb / ichidan) verb: とどけ-る → とどけ-ます, とどけ-て, とどけ-ない. It conjugates just like 食べる. Note that its partner 届く is a Group 1 (u-verb).
What is the difference between 届ける and 届く?
届ける is transitive (you make something reach a place): 荷物を届ける = to deliver the package. 届く is intransitive (something arrives on its own): 荷物が届く = the package arrives. They share the kanji 届 but are different verb groups.
How do you say 'report to the police' with 届ける?
Use 警察に届ける (けいさつに とどける) — to report an incident, such as a theft or a lost item, to the police. You can also hand a found item in at a 交番 (police box).
What does 手が届く mean?
It's the intransitive 届く meaning 'to be able to reach with the hand' — 棚の本に手が届く = I can reach the book on the shelf. Figuratively it can mean 'within reach' or 'affordable.'