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I have an issue with the word `立{た}つ`, which is that I get it's basic meaning
is "to stand", but I see it used in all sorts of ways that don't make sense to
me.

Here are some examples, from various native sources, where `立{た}つ` throws me
off:

> 顔立{かおだ}ちが環境{かんきょう}に影響{えいきょう}し、性格{せいかく}が変{か}わるから。
>
> どうやら星{ほし}も音{おと}をたてるらしい。
>
> このジュースは時間{じかん}がたつと成分{せいぶん}が沈殿{ちんでん}します。

My translations, flawed as they may be, are, respectively:

> "One's looks are influenced by the environment, because one's disposition
> changes."
>
> "It's seems somehow like the stars are making noise."
>
> "After some time the pulp(ingredients) in this juice will settle."

So, when I hear or read `立{た}つ`, I basically get the drift, but...

  * What is standing in terms of your face to change your looks?

  * Noise can stand? If I had to say the second sentence, I would use `音{おと}をする`. I would never think of sound as "standing".

  * Time standing? I would think maybe time passes, as in `時間{じかん}を過{す}ごしす`, but I would never think of time as standing.

Either the Japanese language has a different concept of what it means "to
stand", or `立{た}つ` has a different meaning than I understand it (in addition
to the meaning I do understand.)

Can someone break down for me how these concepts are "standing" in these
examples? Hopefully so I can get some insight that will help me own and use
`立{た}つ` like Japanese people do. :)
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2011-08-27T06:30:50.530
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question
kanji definitions
I can't stand 立つ【た・つ】: Do all its meanings derive from "stand"?
A lot of the usages you mentioned are idiomatic. So 「腹が立つ to get angry /
pissed off」 refers to the worm that lives in your stomach getting angry, IIRC
(according to [Japan's Cultural Code
Words](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0804835748)). In general, 「立つ」
doesn't refer only to the action of standing, but also coming to be, or taking
shape, such as 「波が立つ a wave rises/appears」. Because of this it's sometimes
used as an intransitive verb to show that something was accomplished or
finalized, as in 「計画が立ちました the plan was finalized / we finalized our plans」.
Note that Japanese often uses intransitive verbs to show that a transitive
action reached a successful conclusion, as in the previous example.
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2011-08-27T10:09:18.080
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answer
[This answer is based on my personal (inner) research]

In a nutshell, all the extended uses of たつ derive from a single meaning, which
is not exactly what you'd imagine from the English word "stand".

As illustrated below, my inner image for たつ is "suspended-perpendicular-
upward". "stand" is the opposite: "suspended-perpendicular-downward". Yes,
their meanings overlap, but also different.

![たつ, illustrated](https://i.stack.imgur.com/2Abgk.png)

So if you only have the word "stand" in mind when you try to understand たつ,
you're ill-equipped. You need to mix in some sense of "forward/upward motion"
to accurately translate たつ; facial features stand "out", stars give "off"
sounds, time "goes".
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2011-11-18T02:17:00.373
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answer