To Set Aside
To Store Up, To Save Up
transitive verb, ichidan verb
Because the hiragana ends with an う sound, you know this word is a verb. Notice how it shares its reading with 蓄える and its kanji with 貯める? It also has a similar meaning — to set aside.
Note that 貯える is less common in modern writing, and often feels a little old-fashioned. But you might still see it in contexts where it means to store up food and supplies for future needs (like 蓄える) or to save up money (like 貯める).
This shares a reading with 蓄える, which makes sense since their meanings are so similar! Here's a mnemonic just in case you don't remember the reading:
You need to set aside some things, so you take one (たくわ) and set it aside, then take one more and set it aside again. Repeat this process to store up lots of things over time.
貧乏ですが、何とか子供の学資は貯えるつもりです。
We're poor, but we intend to save for our child's education somehow.
地震が起きた時のために、倉庫に食料品や水を貯えてるんです。
We've been setting aside food and water in the warehouse in case an earthquake happens.
大きなビジネスを始める前に、元手を貯える必要がある。
We need to save up some funds before we can start a big business.