掛(か)けHalf-, Not yet finished, About to, Begin to

はじめる attaches to verb stems to mean 'to begin' or 'start' doing something, e.g. 食べはじめる 'to start eating'. In contrast, かけ also attaches to verb stems but indicates something incomplete or in progress, e.g. 食べかけ 'half-eaten'. Forms with かけ function grammatically as nouns, as in 食べかけのバナナ 'a half-eaten banana'.

かけ and だす both attach to verb stems and can express the start of an action, but their nuance differs. かけ emphasizes that the action has begun but remains incomplete. For example, 書きかけの小説 'a partially written/incomplete novel.' In contrast, だす highlights the beginning of the action, often with a sense of suddenness. For example, 書き出した ('He suddenly started writing.').

ところだ and かけ both express incomplete actions, but with a key difference. るところだ emphasizes that the action is just about to happen, e.g. リンゴを食べるところだ ('I'm about to eat an apple.'). かけ indicates the action has started but isn't finished, e.g. 食べかけのリンゴ ('a half-eaten apple').

Both かけ and たて describe transitional states of actions, but with opposite timing. かけ refers to something that is incomplete or in progress, often implying interrupted action, e.g. 食べかけのパン 'half-eaten bread'. たて, by contrast, refers to something freshly completed, emphasizing newness and immediacy, e.g. 焼きたてのパン 'freshly baked bread'.