Translation guide
The English word "fold" has several distinct meanings. This guide covers the most common ones for learners: bending something flexible (like paper or clothes), closing something hinged, crossing your arms, and the metaphorical sense of a business failing. It also touches on folding in cooking and the noun form.
To bend a flat, flexible object so that one part lies on top of another, creating a crease.
The most common verb for folding paper, origami, or bending something thin and flat. Transitive (you fold something).
紙を半分に折ってください。
Please fold the paper in half.
彼は手紙をきれいに折った。
He folded the letter neatly.
Specifically means to fold something up neatly for storage, like clothes, a map, or a folding chair. Emphasizes the result of being compact.
洗濯物をきちんと折りたたんでください。
Please fold the laundry neatly.
地図を折りたたんでポケットに入れた。
I folded up the map and put it in my pocket.
Intransitive counterpart of 折る. Means something folds or gets folded, or can be folded. Also used for something snapping/breaking.
この紙は折れやすい。
This paper folds easily.
Often used for folding clothes, futons, or umbrellas. Similar to 折りたたむ but more common for everyday items like laundry.
布団を畳んで押し入れにしまった。
I folded the futon and put it away in the closet.
To bring two parts of an object together by rotating on a hinge, often making it compact.
Used for folding hinged objects like chairs, tables, knives, or umbrellas. Focuses on making them compact.
ナイフを折りたたんでポケットに入れた。
I folded the knife and put it in my pocket.
この椅子は折りたためます。
This chair can be folded.
General verb for closing something, including folding a laptop, book, or fan. Not specific to folding, but natural for hinged items.
To bring your arms together across your chest.
The standard phrase for folding or crossing your arms. Literally 'to intertwine arms'.
彼は腕を組んで考え込んでいた。
He was deep in thought with his arms folded.
To cease operations due to financial failure.
The most direct equivalent for a company going bankrupt and closing down.
その会社は倒産した。
The company folded.
A more casual and common way to say a business goes under or folds. Intransitive.
あの店、潰れちゃったんだって。
I heard that shop folded.
To gently mix a light ingredient into a heavier mixture without deflating it.
The standard cooking term for folding, e.g., egg whites into batter. Implies a light, cutting motion.
メレンゲをさっくり混ぜてください。
Please fold in the meringue.
Literally 'cut and mix', another term for folding in baking.
粉類を切り混ぜる。
Fold in the dry ingredients.
The line or mark made by folding something.
A crease or fold line, especially in paper or fabric.
折り目に沿って切ってください。
Please cut along the fold.
A fold line in something that has been folded up, like clothes.
シャツに畳み目がついている。
The shirt has fold lines.
折る is the basic 'fold' for paper or thin objects. 折りたたむ emphasizes folding something up compactly (chairs, maps). 畳む is common for laundry and futons. For closing a laptop, 閉じる is more natural than any fold verb.
While 折る can technically be used for folding clothes, 畳む or 折りたたむ is much more natural. 折る on fabric often implies a sharp crease or bending, not neat folding.
紙を半分に折ってください。
Fold the paper in half.
彼は腕を組んで待っていた。
He folded his arms and waited.
そのスタートアップはわずか1年で倒産した。
The startup folded after just one year.
I closed my laptop and ended the meeting.