Are グラス and ガラス alternative spellings of the same word?

Question

As in the title: Are グラス and ガラス alternative spellings of the same word?

I'm going through a 2級 prep book for vocabulary and it has

ワイングラス = wine glass

but

ガラスのコップ = glass (for drinking)

and

窓のガラス = window glass

Are グラス and ガラス the same or do I have to be careful when to use which?

AFAIK, ガラス is for the material "glass", while グラス is for the thing that holds a liquid you're about to drink. — Xeo, Commented Nov 15, 2014 at 9:44
I'll just add that the origins are different as well, グラス being from the English, while ガラス is from Dutch 'Glas'. — Robin, Commented Nov 15, 2014 at 11:57
@Ash Interesting. And funny how the same word became two different words : ) — Rudy the Reindeer, Commented Nov 15, 2014 at 12:44

Igor Skochinsky · Accepted Answer · 2014-11-15 09:49:25Z

7

While people will likely understand you if you mix them up, it's better to use proper one:

ガラス = glass (material)

グラス = a glass (for drinking)

~グラス = some other things made from glass, or have "glass" in the English name:

answered Nov 15, 2014 at 9:49

Igor Skochinsky

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Are these pronounced (in 標準語【ひょうじゅんご】) as ガラス【HHL】, グラス【LHL】, and グラス【HLL】, respectively?
– rintaun
Commented Nov 16, 2014 at 0:54
1

Basically ガラス（０）、グラス（０or１）i.e. ガラス and グラス or グ↓ラス. When they are component of a word compound in the form of ＿＿グラス, they have downstep before the last two moras i.e. 吹きガ↓ラス(3)、ワイング↓ラス(4). As for グラスワイン, it's グラスワ↓イン(4).
– user4092
Commented Nov 16, 2014 at 6:29

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