店みせをたたむ

み

せ

を

た

む

Meanings

1

expression, godan verb (-mu)

close down a business; shut up shop

Idiomatic expression for permanently closing a shop or business, often with a nuance of finality or giving up.

長なが年ねん続つづけた店みせをたたむのはつらい決けつ断だんだった。
Closing down the shop I had run for many years was a painful decision.
不ふ景けい気きで、あの老舗しにせも店みせをたたん

だ

。

Due to the recession, even that long-established store closed down.

Written forms

店みせをたたむ
Common kana-mixed spelling; the verb たたむ is often written in kana in this idiom.
店みせを畳たたむ
Kanji spelling for たたむ; less common but still used.

Kanji

店store, shop
畳tatami mat, counter for tatami mats, fold

Similar words

閉へい店てんする
閉店する is a more formal and neutral term for closing a shop, often used for daily closing or permanent closure, while 店をたたむ specifically implies shutting down the business permanently, often with a sense of finality.
廃はい業ぎょうする
廃業する is a formal term for going out of business or discontinuing a business, similar in finality to 店をたたむ but less idiomatic and more businesslike.

Etymology

The phrase literally means 'to fold up the shop', from 店 (shop) and たたむ (to fold). It metaphorically refers to closing a business as one would fold up a stall or goods at the end of the day.