Nihoner
表層形
膳立
ゼンダテ
名詞

膳立 (ゼンダテ)

Zendate · ぜんだて — setting the table, laying the table; setting up, getting one's ducks in a row, running interference, setting the stage

Other ways to say “setting the table” in Japanese →

膳立 in rōmaji: zendate.

名詞 普通名詞 一般 *
📝 膳立て 🔤 * 📐 *
Updated: 2026年9月16日
📖 Grammar Information
表層形 (Surface)
膳立
見出し語 (Lemma)
膳立て
読み (Reading)
ゼンダテ
品詞 (POS)
名詞・普通名詞・一般・*
活用型 (Conj. Type)
*
活用形 (Conj. Form)
*
表記 (Orthography)
膳立
読み・基本形
ゼンダテ
表記・基本形
膳立
見出し語の読み
ゼンダテ
How it's used

Used in formal or written contexts to mean 'preparations' or 'setting the stage', often before an event or negotiation.

会議の膳立を整える。
Kaigi no zendate o totonoeru.
Prepare the groundwork for the meeting.

彼が膳立してくれたおかげで、商談は成功した。
Kare ga zendate shite kureta okage de, shōdan wa seikō shita.
Thanks to his groundwork, the business negotiation succeeded.

⚖️ Often confused with '用意' (yōi), but '膳立' implies proactive orchestration, not just simple preparation.

💡 English Meaning

膳立 means “setting the table, laying the table; setting up, getting one's ducks in a row, running interference, setting the stage” — full definition & examples →

⭐ Dictionary Form

膳立て (ゼンダテ) — main entry →

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膳立
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Reading & Info
ゼンダテ
Lemma: 膳立て
名詞普通名詞一般*
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Did you know · 名詞
名詞 (nouns) are the backbone of Japanese sentences. They can be combined with particles like が, を, に, で to indicate grammatical role.
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❓ About this entry
What is the difference between surface form and lemma? ▼
The surface form (膳立) is the exact text as it appeared in the corpus — it may be conjugated or inflected. The lemma (膳立て) is the dictionary base form. For example, 食べた (surface) has the lemma 食べる.
What does the reading (pron) field mean? ▼
The reading shows the pronunciation in hiragana or katakana as recorded by UniDic. For kanji entries this is the standard reading of this specific surface form — which may differ from other readings of the same kanji.
What is UniDic? ▼
UniDic is a comprehensive Japanese lexicon developed by the National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics (NINJAL). It provides detailed morphological information for modern Japanese words, used in NLP tools like MeCab.
How do I save this entry? ▼
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