詰める

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 詰める (つめる) is a transitive verb meaning to pack a space or reduce a gap. 詰めた is completive past; 詰めれば is conditional.
• Basic usage: 着替えを詰めた packs clothing into a suitcase, whereas 席を少し詰めれば reduces the spacing between seated people.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Packing contents and closing a seating gap
  • Both senses take a marked object, but one object is packed content and the other is a spatial arrangement. The conditional form opens the later result of making room.