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It is only a word but every time I look it up they give me a different meaning

Here are some pictures with the meanings that I found:

This is from the book "The preparatory course for the japanese language proficiency test N4 読む":

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This is from the book "はじめての日本語能力試験 N4単語1500":

enter image description here

This one is from Jisho.org:

enter image description here

Can you give me the meaning you think it have and some examples? please

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  • 7
    There is a chance that the book from which you took your first image might contain some other serious misinformation because 「おこなう」 can never mean "to occur".
    – user4032
    Nov 26, 2017 at 1:40
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    I bet おこる appeared under おこなう and the heading goes with it, or the book swapped the two words by mistake.
    – mamster
    Nov 26, 2017 at 3:57

1 Answer 1

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行う is a transitive verb that takes を. (I don't understand why the first picture used "to occur" which is intransitive.)

It is basically similar to する ("to do"), but 行う sounds more formal and stiff. The more formal or the bigger the situation is, the more likely 行う is chosen.

  • 製品の発表会をする ≒ 製品の発表会を行う
  • 映画の撮影をする ≒ 映画の撮影を行う
  • 結婚式をする ≒ 結婚式を行う

The following sentences usually sound a little funny because 行う is too grandiose:

  • [?] 学校の宿題を行う
  • [?] 友達とバスケットボールを行う

On the other hand, the following sentences are too casual in news articles, formal greetings or such, but it can appear in casual conversations.

  • オリンピックをする
  • 株主総会をする

There is also a verb 執り行う which sounds even stiffer and is only used with big ceremonies like wedding ceremonies.

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  • So おこなう it's like to do but in a more exentric and big way. But can it be used in casual conversations or it is just for the news? for example: オリンピックを行う
    – Luis Fernando Badel Méndez
    Nov 26, 2017 at 2:33
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    In the most casual conversations する or やる is probably preferred over 行う (「2000年のオリンピックって、どこでやったの？」).
    – naruto
    Nov 26, 2017 at 2:54
  • I found that かける can mean the same thing .-. is there any difference?
    – Luis Fernando Badel Méndez
    Nov 26, 2017 at 3:41
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    @LuisFernandoBadelMéndez かける has many meanings, but I don't think かける can ever be used in our examples here... Are you really reading a credible learning material?
    – naruto
    Nov 26, 2017 at 3:54
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    @LuisFernandoBadelMéndez Verbs like する/やる/かける/とる/ひく and so on are light verbs and there are tons of things you have to memorize about these verbs. 心配をかける and 心配をする have totally different meanings, and it has nothing to do what's asked here.
    – naruto
    Nov 26, 2017 at 4:13

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