godan verb (-u), transitive verb
pick up; gather; find and pick up
The basic physical sense: pick something up from the ground or gather items one by one. It commonly includes finding something that someone dropped or lost.
道に落ちていた財布を拾った。
I picked up a wallet that had been dropped on the road.
子どもたちは海
The children were gathering shells on the beach.
godan verb (-u), transitive verb
Used for picking out particular items, words, information, or points from a larger set, often selectively rather than exhaustively.
報告書から重要な数字だけを拾った。
I picked out only the important figures from the report.
godan verb (-u), transitive verb
get unexpectedly; snatch a win; pull off
Figurative use for gaining something unexpectedly, especially luck, an opportunity, or a victory that one barely manages to obtain.
相手のミスに助けられて、なんとか勝ちを拾った。
Helped by the opponent's mistake, we somehow snatched a win.
godan verb (-u), transitive verb
pick someone up; collect someone by car
Used when a driver stops somewhere to collect a person, usually in a car or similar vehicle.
駅で友達を拾ってから会場へ向かった。
I picked up my friend at the station and then headed to the venue.
godan verb (-u), transitive verb
hail; flag down
Most common with タクシー: to find, hail, or catch a taxi on the street.
雨が強くなったので、大通りでタクシーを拾った。
Because the rain got heavy, I hailed a taxi on the main street.
godan verb (-u), transitive verb
pick up a signal; pick up sound; receive interference
Used for devices or systems capturing sound, radio waves, signals, noise, or interference, sometimes unintentionally.
このマイクは周りの音をよく拾う。
This microphone picks up surrounding sounds very easily.
godan verb (-u), transitive verb
return a difficult shot; just manage to get the ball
Sports use, especially in ball games: to reach and return, dig, or save a difficult ball rather than letting it go.
リベロが相手の強打を拾った。
The libero dug up the opponent's hard spike.
godan verb (-u), transitive verb
take someone in; give someone a job; take on someone in need
Figurative use for accepting or helping someone who is in a difficult position, often by hiring them or giving them a place to belong.
会社が倒産した後、前の上司が私を拾ってくれた。
After the company went bankrupt, my former boss took me on.
godan verb (-u), transitive verb
Rare or old-fashioned use meaning to go on foot; in ordinary modern Japanese, 歩く or 徒歩で行く is the normal wording.
古い用法では、「拾う」が「歩いて行く」という意味で使われることがある。
In older usage, 拾う can be used to mean 'to go on foot.'