A: 毎日漢字を十覚えることにしている。
B: 毎日漢字を十覚えるようにしている。
Both literally mean
I make a rule to remember 10 kanji characters everyday.
So what is the difference?
asked Jan 16, 2017 at 18:06
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1 Answer
A:「 毎日漢字を十覚えることにしている。」
B: 「毎日漢字を十覚えるようにしている。」
I am going to say that the difference between the two is fairly subtle. In real life, some people would actually use them interchangeably.
Strictly speaking (at the risk of sounding slightly nitpicky), however, using 「ことにしている」 would often make it sound like the speaker is more serious and more firmly determined about learning 10 kanji a day than when using 「ようにしている」.
It would be like saying "I make it a rule" vs. "I have been trying". 「ように」 could sound slightly less strict about the goal, but again not by much.
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To add to this, こと here is more about making the decision (and here する is interchangeable with 決める), whereas よう emphasizes the effort or intention to achieve some general state. So I would translate A as "I've decided to learn 10 kanzi per day" and B as "I'm trying to learn 10 kanzi per day." Commented Mar 4, 2018 at 9:04