Questions tagged [kanji-choice]
漢字の使い分け. Questions about choosing the right kanji.
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Difference between 送信 and 送付
Both kanji has a similar meaning that mean to send or transmit.
But I wonder which and when the kanji should be used.
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What does this 件 mean at the end of this sentence?
I saw this on a youtube comment:
アメリカが正義を騙る度に邪悪さが鮮明に浮かび上がる件。
I think it means something to the effect of:
Every time America pretends to be about justice, its evil clearly emerges.
But I translated ...
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Two different kanjis for 'Past'
I am curious as well as confused to the existence of both 去 and 先.
Both these kanjis are used to mean past time, like 去年, 先月 etc. What I wonder is why different kanjis are used in case of month and ...
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Why are pickled plums 梅干 and not 梅漬, etc?
What caused pickled plums to be referenced with kanji indicating dryness? Could it be that the word itself holds some form of seniority over the kanji? My quick Wikipedia skimming does not seem to ...
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What's 火垂る and why is it so rare?
I've stumbled upon the word 火垂る, meaning firefly, in the Japanese title for Grave of the Fireflies. The thing is, there's already a kanji (蛍), pronounced the same way. The other weirded thing is that ...
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Why do authors choose to use obscure/old ways to write words?
To be clear, this is not a question on why alternate forms exist. Obviously there are a lot of historical reasons behind them. It is also not about why people use rarer alternate forms generally. ...
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Why is the name of the whisky "TOKI" written as 季?
Suntory has a whisky named TOKI in their portfolio. It took me a bit to find that the kanji used for this is actually 季 and has the On-Yomi き, but can be pronounced in names as すえ or とし.
Another fact ...
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Different kanji variations for the same word with same readings but different meanings
The verb あく for example can be written as 開く 空く 明く with all of them being read the same way. In the dictionary they are all listed under the same item but looking at the translation you can see that ...
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Origin of the word 床屋?
Why is the kanji 床 (floor) used to talk about a barbershop?
According to some answers in the post linked in the comments, here's two possible explanations.
Originally barbershop had tatamis (this isn'...
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Stylistic implications of using and not using kanji
I am currently reading 村上春樹's 「海辺のカフカ」and I came across several examples of words being written in kanji in one instance and in kana shortly after.
Here is one example where the two writings occur in ...
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Alternative kanji forms, i.e., 「滲みる」 vs. 「染みる」。
I was reading a sentence in a manga and the context used 滲みる to comment on something soaking into fabric. (actually, it was specifically 「滲みとる」, is that an ending I'm not aware of or an accent of た/て?)...
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How is writing with 旧字体 over 新字体, using lots of 表外漢字 and using 漢字 in place of かな in a word that is almost always written with かな perceived?
Examples:
A: 毎日、学校で桜の木を見る。（新字体）
B: 毎日、學校で櫻の木を見る。（旧字体）
A: この国の歴史を研究しています。（新字体）
B: この國の歷史を硏究しています。（旧字体）
A: 私はワニがすきです。（カタカナ）
B: 私は鰐が好きです。（表外漢字）
A: 私の好きな魚はハタハタとスズキです。（カタカナ）
B: 私の好きな魚は鰰と鱸です。（表外漢字）
A: ...
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difference between 道具 vs 工具
is there a significant difference between 道具{どうぐ} & 工具{こうぐ}? They both seem to mean tool, but the former has a longer list of than the latter but all still basically tool/instrument. Also how is 具{...
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difference between 死, 死ぬ, & 死去?
How are 死{し}, 死ぬ{しぬ}, & 死去{しきょ} different? Is it "die" vs "to die"?
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Why do the readings change?
Forgive my title as I don’t really have a good one at the top of my head.
I’ve always been into word play when it comes to naming characters, but when it comes to Japanese it’s kinda difficult for me. ...
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What's the difference between 学部 and 学科?
In the Kanji textbook I've been studying from, I've seen compounds like
社会学部 or 物理学科
and both are then translated as 'the department/faculty of ～'. Is there any difference between 部 and 科 in this ...
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What is the difference between 卓 and 台?
Someone else asked this question in another Japanese learning space I'm in and I attempted to research it to find an answer for them, but I didn't quite get a conclusive answer.
On goo, they define 卓 ...
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If both 五 and 伍 mean "five", when should I use each one?
It caught my attention the character 伍 with the meaning of "five".
I've seen it recently in the anime "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba", in which some characters have kanji tattooed ...
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Difference between 守る and 護る [duplicate]
Both 守 and 護 mean "to protect" or "to safeguard", but are there any differences between them?
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What's the difference between 鍵 and 鑰?
What is the difference between 鍵 and 鑰?
I was about to learn the kanji for 'key' and I came across this problem. When I checked it in the dictionary it shows that both of them are read as kagi and ...
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Usage of other word forms
In this sentence:
陽あたり良好
Jisho.org states that "陽" is another form for "日" and that when it signifies "day", it's implied to have the same meaning. With this example, I've only ever learned of "日" ...
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How to write foreign names that are mixed with Japanese names?
My name is "Leonardo Makoto" (given names) "Mito" (surname) because, in my country, it is common for Nisei and Sansei to have a foreign first name and a Japanese second name (so my family can call me ...
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希硫酸, 稀硫酸? What’s the difference?
希硫酸, 稀硫酸. My dictionary says they are both “dilute sulfuric acid”. What is the difference in usage here? Is there just one optional radical?
English has “sulfuric” and “sulphuric”, and that’s an ...
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What is the difference between 北 and 北部 [duplicate]
What is the main difference between 北 and 北部?
I heard that's words that contain 2 kanji sounds more polite, but not sure that it's the current situation.
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What is the difference between 描【か】く and 描【えが】く?
I believe the two forms of to draw are 描{か}く and 描{えが}き. What are the differences between them? Which one is used more commonly?
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Expressing action of taking off
Like saying I'm going to take off my hat as in 帽子{ぼうし}を抜{ぬ}きます. I believe 抜{ぬ} "nu" means to get ride of or dispose of, but I guess I'm certain context it could mean to take off or remove. I'm ...
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aru Kanji confusion
In the sentence:
今日は宿題があります。
would I use
在る or 有る?
(I know that today it's almost always written in Kana)
Thanks in advance :)!
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What is the difference between 売女 vs 街娼?
After reading, What's the difference between 変態 and 痴女 (or 痴漢)?, I did a few word searches.
Jisho lists multiple words when searching for the term Whore:
売女 - prostitute; whore
街娼 - prostitute; ...
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What is the difference in usage between 闘う and 戦う?
I would like to know the difference in usage between these two godan and intransitive verbs :
闘う{たたかう}
戦う{たたかう}
When is one chosen over the other? Is 戦う more related to the war and 闘う to the ...
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Is there a difference in usage between 賃銀 and 賃金?
I was looking into a novel and I found the word 賃銀. According to my dictionary, this word has the same meaning as 賃金, which is wages, the money a person receive for a work/task.
They have the same ...
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The difference between transitive verbs 窮める, 極める, 究める and intransitive verbs 極まる, 窮まるand 谷まる?
I'm sorry if this question has been answered before, but I did not find a suitable answer. Please provide reliable link if that is the case.
I would like to know the differences between the ...
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着 vs 衣 to refer to gi?
When would I use 着（ki) as opposed to 衣 (i) to refer to a karate gi (空手着 or 空手衣)?
As I understand it, 着 refers to something you wear, literally being used as a noun for "suit of clothes" and being ...
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How obscure is the use of 令 in 令和?
I actually like the new 年号 kanji 令和, but I must admit I was surprised by the choice of 令. According to this article in the Japan Times,
The new era name is composed of two Chinese characters — “...
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What do all the different たすける's mean?
Today I noticed during practicing kanji that lately I've been going through a lot of kanji that all mean help / save / assist :
助ける
扶ける
救ける
援ける
輔ける
and I found two more that I had yet to learn (...
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How to express "Stone Master" as a compliment
I dabble in Shodo and I am designing a calligraphy to give as a gif to a martial arts master.
He is French, and his name is Pierre (Pierre, just like all other derivatives of Latin "Petrus", like ...
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What is the difference between 神社, お寺 and お宮?
All of them mean "shrine" or "temple", but what is the difference between all of them ?
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When I go to Japan to study abroad, can I write my name in kanji?
I am planning to study abroad in Japan in two years through my college for a year at a Japanese speaking university. I also have goals/aspirations to one day work/live in Japan. Is it weird/acceptable ...
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Difference between 嵌まる and 填まる
This verb is also written in katakana despite the presence of kanjis. What is the difference between them ? In which context 嵌まる suits more than 填まる, what is the nuance ?
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reading 明日 – ashita why kanji for 日 – nichi dont have shita reading in any dictinary online? [duplicate]
in word 明日 – ashita character 明 –has kunyomi reading (a) in every dictionary but 日 – dont have any shita reading or atleast i haven't found it in jisho or other online dictionary. same goes for other ...
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What is the difference between 不気味 and 無気味?
The dictionary gives both words to mean 'ominous' and they have the same pronunciation. What is the difference between 不気味 and 無気味?
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Difference between 粗い and 荒い
I would like to know when 粗い is used. According to the dictionary, it means "rough", but I'm not able to see the difference between 粗い and 荒い.
Is 粗い used only when a picture has bad quality? Or in ...
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Difference between 同級生 and 級友?
Both translate to classmate. However I can't see in which context one is used. I asked to my teacher and he said that he never heard about 級友 and it might be an old word not used anymore.
What is the ...
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Differences between 出発する and 出る
Both mean "to leave" but when do you use one instead of another ? Does 出発する implies "leaving and go on a trip" ? Or maybe is one more formal than the other ?
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What is the difference between 始め 初め and 始まり?
Just to be sure, I'm not talking about the verbs 始める/始まる but the nouns(maybe adverb?) 始め 初め and 始まり.
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What's the difference between 読み and 読書?
Both mean reading or to read in the verbal form but in what context do you use 読み/読む and in what context to you use 読書/読書する ?
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What is the difference between 惹かれる and 引かれる?
I was texting a Japanese person, and I saw 引かれる【ひかれる】for the first time, so I searched for its meaning. I saw contradictory explanations and translations, some sources say it is the same as 惹かれる｛ひかれる｝,...
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The difference between 丸 and 玉
It may be a dumb question, both mean circle/round thing but 玉 is more of a jewel/sphere/ball. Could I say "5円丸" instead of "5円玉"? Or should I just stick with "5円硬貨"
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How to say prices in these situations?
Usually the basics only cover いくら so most basic lessons I know of don't even cover the word price in basic contexts.
I know 物価 and my understanding is that it is used in the general economic sense?
...
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Is it more common to write "wakarimasu" with or without kanji?
I've had two vocabulary lists where wakarimasu is written as 分かります. However most of the time in news articles and manga I find it back as just わかります. So I wondered what is commonly used among Japanese ...
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