包装 and 包む: packaging goods and wrapping an object
Compare a gift-wrapping request with wrapping plates in cloth, learning the noun 包装 and the verb 包む in context.
Packaging goods
包装, read ほうそう, means wrapping or packaging an item. 贈り物なので、包装をお願いします。 requests wrapping because the item is a gift.
包装を開ける前に、宛名を確認しました。 says that the recipient's name was checked before the wrapping was opened. Read the act of packaging or the resulting wrapping according to context.
The action of wrapping
包む, read つつむ, is a verb meaning to wrap. 割れないように、皿を布で包みました。 says that plates were wrapped in cloth so they would not break.
で marks the cloth used as the wrapping material. 紙で箱を包んでください。 asks for a box to be wrapped in paper, with を marking the box being wrapped.
Learning word class and form together
店員が商品を包装しました。 and 店員が商品を紙で包みました。 can describe the same wrapping situation. The latter specifies paper as the material.
The て-form of 包む is 包んで. Do not confuse it with 包み and produce 包みて; use forms such as 紙で包んで to connect the action.
What is wrapped, and what material is used, in 皿を布で包みました。?
Show the answer and why
The plates, 皿, are wrapped using cloth, 布. Distinguish the roles of を and で.