protect · preserve

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 保 concerns maintaining a state or safeguarding something; 保つ is read たもつ.
• Basic usage: 保存(ほぞん) means preserving a condition or saving data; 保管(ほかん) concerns keeping items in storage or safekeeping.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• A state being maintained
  • In 温度を一定に保つ, を marks the temperature and に marks the state to maintain. The inflected forms are 保って and 保った.
• Saving and safekeeping
  • 写真を保存する can mean saving photo data; 書類を保管する focuses on keeping documents in safekeeping. Their uses can overlap when physical items are involved.