1To put something on one's head; to wear (a hat, hood, crown, etc.).
毎朝、帽子を被って学校へ行きます。
I put on my hat every morning and go to school.
式典で彼は王冠を被った。
He wore a crown at the ceremony.
風が強いからフードを被ったほうがいいよ。
It's windy, so you'd better pull your hood on.
2To be covered with (snow, dust, mud, etc.) or to be doused/splashed with a liquid/substance.
山は昨夜の雪で白く被っている。
The mountain is covered in snow from last night.
作業中に塗料が服に被ってしまった。
Paint splashed onto my clothes while I was working.
車が泥に被っていて、洗わないと分からないほどだ。
The car is covered in mud — you can't even tell what color it is until you wash it.
3To bear or take on (someone's debts, blame, responsibility); to shoulder a burden.
部長が会社の不祥事の責任を被った。
The manager took responsibility for the company's scandal.
私はその失敗の罪を被るつもりはない。
I don't intend to take the blame for that failure.
彼は同僚のミスを被って昇進した。
He ended up taking the blame for a colleague's mistake and was promoted.
4To overlap (e.g., sounds, colors, roles); to coincide or occur at the same time causing overlap.
二人の声が同時に出て音が被って聞こえた。
Their voices came out at the same time and overlapped, making it hard to hear.
このシャツとそのジャケットは色が被っているから、別の色にしよう。
Those shirt and jacket colors overlap, so let's pick a different color.
5To be similar or redundant; to duplicate in function or role.
二つの部署の仕事が被っているので、どちらかを整理したほうがいい。
The work of the two departments overlaps, so one should be reorganized.
その二つの表現は意味が被っていて、どちらを使っても同じだ。
Those two expressions are similar in meaning; either can be used.
6To be fogged (of film or photographic material) — an overexposure or chemical fog causing loss of contrast.
古いネガは保管状態が悪くて被ってしまった。
The old negatives got fogged because they were stored poorly.
7Theater jargon meaning (of a play, etc.) to close or come to an end; rarely used in modern Japanese.
8Theater jargon meaning (of a performance) to be a full house; to sell out; rarely used in modern Japanese.
9Archaic: to blunder or bungle, as in the set phrase 「毛氈を被る」; not used in modern Japanese.
10Archaic: to be deceived; not used in modern Japanese.