行う

[Bucko]

Anyone know how to use the verb 行う? I can't quite grasp it. And is there any difference if it's written 行なう?

Bucko

[Mike Cash]

Just think of it as a fancy-pants way to say you've carried out the action it refers to. It doesn't come up all that often, so don't invest too much time on it.

[undrentide]

It is mainly used in formal writing, as Mike explained.
e.g.
結婚式を行う
イベントを行う
手術を行う
取引を行う
テストを行う
設定を行う
Most of them can be replaced by する.

行う and 行なう mean the same, 行う seems to be the correct one but 行なう is also acceptable. (Normally okurigana is used for the part that conjugats -
行なわない、行ないます、行なうとき、行なえば、行な おう)

[Elizabeth]

It is mainly used in formal writing, as Mike explained.
e.g.
結婚式を行う
イベントを行う
手術を行う
取引を行う
テストを行う
設定を行う
Most of them can be replaced by する.
The only noun I had always seen with 行う was 選挙、to hold or conduct an election. But apparently する is interchangable here as well.


行なう I thought might be the writer's choice if it seems to have a more literary or poetic connotation than 行う。:?

[Bucko]

Just think of it as a fancy-pants way to say you've carried out the action it refers to. It doesn't come up all that often, so don't invest too much time on it.

LOL, well ok I won't worry too much about it then