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I do usually encounter the kanji 引当 but I suddenly encountered the 引充 kanji. My colleague said they mean the same and their reading is the same. when do you use the one over the other?

The word that the kanji modified that time 引充キャリアNo. which is a normal cart in an assembly line. why is the kanji more appropriate that the commonly used 引当 that time?

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  • Are you sure 引充 isn't actually just a Chinese word? I can't seem to find that combination in a Japanese dictionary... :(
    – summea
    Commented Mar 15, 2012 at 5:08
  • How do you read it? ひきあて?
    – user1016
    Commented Mar 15, 2012 at 14:16
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    @summea I asked my Japanese colleague and he said that 引充 is a Japanese word. I am also confused since I cannot see it in any dictionary but I can search other Japanese websites using it. He just said for the identifying the キャリアNo. I should use 引充. But he cannot explain why it is more appropriate.
    – Nap
    Commented Mar 16, 2012 at 1:28
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    I do not think that 引充 is a Japanese word which is commonly used. Dictionaries agree on this. If it is used in your company and you want to know the difference between 引当 and 引充, then ask your colleague. I do not think that there is much hope that people outside your company can answer it. My guess was that it would be a typo for 引当, but according to your colleague, it is intended and not a typo. Commented Mar 16, 2012 at 23:54
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    You should not trust me just because I am a native speaker of Japanese. (If you see many doubtful claims about the Japanese language made by native speakers on the web, you will know what I mean.) I am not an authority of Japanese, and that is why I double-checked what I thought with dictionaries. Commented Mar 18, 2012 at 18:59

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I asked my manager and here is his explanation:

引充 - ある目的にあてる

   - ある用途にあてる

引当 - 目的が必要はない

Basically the use of 引充 is rare. And is used when a goal is attained. While the commonly used 引当 does not necessarily need a goal before.

So far, he said Japanese also rarely use the 引充 also. But it is Japanese. I am asking from a 55 years old so maybe the word just got extincted. He just used it in our Specification though.

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  • I am not familiar with accounting, but is there such a thing as 引当 (reserve or mortgage) without a purpose? Commented Mar 23, 2012 at 14:44
  • @Ito I don't know, but maybe since 引充 was no longer used, 引当 is now used to mean the original too. Maybe the explanation was also from 40 years ago when 引充 is stil used. It may not apply now. But I am not sure. will wait for other answer.
    – Nap
    Commented Mar 24, 2012 at 0:17
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    I do not think that there was such a thing as 引当 without a purpose even forty years ago, because 引当 has some purpose by definition. I do not think that this is related to evolution of the language, and it looks more like just a local custom in your company together with an illogical and unnecessary attempt to justify it as something more than a local practice. Of course, if you are happy with your manager’s explanation, I am not in the position to complain about it. I just wanted to note that this explanation does not make any sense to me. Commented Mar 25, 2012 at 2:33
  • @Ito Agreed. Your apprehension does make senses. I will leave this question unanswered state for now. As a non-native speaker, I am not in the position to judge if it is correct. I will wait for other native speaker to answer. But we do have scarcity of native speaker in the community though.
    – Nap
    Commented Mar 25, 2012 at 2:44

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