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The verbs つつむ and くるむ and both written 包む, and according to my English-to-
Japanese dictionary both have the meaning "to wrap". くるむ is glossed "おおう",
while つつむ is glossed "すっぽりと覆う", but I am having difficulty distinguishing the
two from these definitions and from the example sentences provided. Is there a
difference in usage between the two words, or can they be treated as synonyms?
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-12T04:43:01.957
13688
2022-03-09T17:12:13.183
3634
question
word-choice usage verbs
What is the difference between 包む（つつむ）and 包む（くるむ）?
Both mean to "wrap" but つつむ is the one that has the more general meaning of
"wrap" that we think of. くるむ is usually written in hiragana and has a nuance
of _rolling something up_ in order to wrap it, or generally enclose it, for
example with 風呂敷{ふろしき}, or even 毛布 like in
[毛布にくるまれた女の遺体](http://okwave.jp/qa/q4898813.html) (a girl's corpse wrapped in
a blanket). A little gross, sure, but a poignant image to drive the point
home.

So 包む is basically always going to be つつむ. It refers to "wrapping."

くるむ is going to be hiragana. It refers to "rolling."
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-12T06:35:43.443
13690
2013-12-12T06:47:21.413
2013-12-12T06:47:21.413
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answer