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What is the difference between 情報 jōhō and 知らせ shirase ?

Both mean 'information', although I found more example sentences of 情報 as 'information' and of 知らせ as 'news'.

Finally, I would like to know which word to use to express:

  • "Paul will give you the information (i.e. the hour, the place, etc.) about the party of next Saturday"

  • "Your colleagues will give you all the information (i.e. the hour, the place, the tasks, etc.) about the next meeting with the boss".

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  • 知らせ and お知らせ are very different words. Maybe do you mean お知らせ?
    – naruto
    Dec 16, 2022 at 15:09
  • What dictionary?
    – Leebo
    Dec 16, 2022 at 15:12
  • Hmm... 知らせ is not a word you would commonly hear or see in daily life (that's why I thought you might mean お知らせ). At least in the given contexts, 知らせ makes no sense, so you may have misheard something.
    – naruto
    Dec 16, 2022 at 15:16
  • I can't check Midori for myself since it seems to be iOS only, but the review on Tofugu says it uses JMDict. That's the same as Jisho, and Jisho has お知らせ.
    – Leebo
    Dec 16, 2022 at 15:17
  • 1
    Not a big deal, just would have been surprised if a dictionary didn't have it.
    – Leebo
    Dec 16, 2022 at 15:20

2 Answers 2

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情報 is the word for "information" in general. In the given example sentences, 情報 is the only word that can be used (another option is 詳細 "details").

お知らせ is more like "notification" or "announcement" (of an upcoming event). You should remember this as a lexicalized word that is almost always used with お, even though some dictionaries may not have a dedicated entry for this. (A few writers may drop お in serious sentences, but it's rare.)

  • XYZデパート閉店のお知らせ
    XYZ Department Store Closure Notice
  • コンサートの最後に新曲リリースのお知らせがあった。
    At the end of the concert, there was an announcement of the release of a new song.

知らせ (without お) is "news" or "report" of some important event that has already happened. There are cases where "information" is a valid translation, but it's far from the primary translation of this word. Besides, this is a stilted word used mainly in formal greetings, essays and such. 知らせ also means "sign; omen" in a few set phrases.

  • Aさんが危篤だという知らせを聞いて病院にかけつけました。
    I rushed to the hospital upon hearing the news that A was in critical condition.
  • よい知らせをお待ち申し上げております。
    We look forward to hearing good news from you.

So パーティーの情報 refers to the information (the hour, the place, etc.) about the party. パーティーのお知らせ refers to the announcement (or the invitation) itself. パーティーの知らせ sounds like an odd expression to me (but if someone really said this, it should refer to the same thing as パーティーのお知らせ). If you thought you heard 知らせ "in daily life" in such a context, I suspect you have misheard something or seen some weird misspelling.

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情報 a) can be used for simple information, but it's more associated with medium to large amount of information, and b) it's also a more formal/technical term.

知らせ in contrast a) can't refer to detailed information - it must be a "short" information, and b) it's more ... maybe not casual but "untechnical" word (words that you would use in literature, if that makes sense).

So for example, you can say 「詳細な情報を手に入れた」but not 「詳細な知らせを手に入れた」 . Also, it's natural to say 「虫が秋の知らせを運んでくる」, but it would be a weird word choice if you say 「虫が秋到来の情報を運んでくる」(it's too technical). Another one: it's natural to say 「フェロモンは情報を運ぶ」 but 「フェロモンは様々な知らせを運ぶ」 would be an odd word choice.

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