line up · alongside

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 並 has eight strokes and expresses being side by side or forming a row.
• Basic usage: 並ぶ means to line up or be arranged, while 並べる means to arrange people or things.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Being arranged and arranging
  • 並ぶ is ならぶ, and 並べる is ならべる.
  • 瓶が並ぶ describes bottles standing in a row; 瓶を並べる describes someone arranging them.
• Not only people in a queue
  • 客が並ぶ describes customers lining up; 棚に瓶が並ぶ describes bottles arranged on a shelf.
  • 並ぶ is not restricted to people waiting in line.
• A specified ordering rule
  • 大きさ順に並べる means to arrange by size.
  • 並べる alone does not necessarily imply size order or ascending order; the added expression specifies the order.