Japanese is full of words with the same pronunciation, known as homophones (同音異義語 - Dōon igi-go). This is one of the great difficulties of learning Japanese. Fortunately, most words with the same pronunciation have similar meanings.
All this due to words borrowed from Chinese and other languages, and as Japanese is only composed of 109 syllables, without accentuation or change in pronunciation, it results in thousands of identical words.
In this article, we will see some of these words with the same pronunciation. Unfortunately, there are many, and in order not to make the article too long, let's look at just a few.
Table of Content
Au - あう - 合う vs 会う vs 遭う
Both words above are pronounced "Au" but have their differences.
- 会う - means “to meet someone in person or be present at an event;
- 合う - means "do something together" or "come across or encounter something";
- 遭う - means "to encounter, unexpected."
These 3 words, in addition to having the same pronunciation, also have a very similar meaning. The sentences below will help you understand the difference between these 3 words.
| 渋谷でぱったりと友達に会った | I met a friend in Shibuya by chance | I met a friend in Shibuya |
| 集まってそれを話し合いましょう。 | The young couple quickly fell in love. | We will meet together to discuss the matter. |
| 帰りに、にわか雨に遭いました | Kaeri ni, niwakaame ni aimashita | On the way home, we ran into the rain. |
Aka - あか - 赤 vs 紅 vs 朱 vs 緋
- 赤 - Refers to all shades of the color red;
- 紅 - Used for deep red tones like crimson;
- 朱 - is used for orangish reds, such as redness;
- 緋 - Used for bright reds, such as scarlet, cardinal, or fiery red;
Ashi - あし - 足 vs 脚 vs 葦
- 足 - refers to the feet
- 脚 - refers to the legs, from the waist down;
- 葦 - phragmites, reedgrass
- アシ - abbreviation of assistant アシスタント
- 悪し - bad, evil
Asakiru - おさまる - 収まる vs 納まる vs 治まる vs 修まる
- 収まる - means "to fit in", "to unite", or "to achieve a good result."
- 納まる - means "to resolve something in its proper place", "to put an end to something", or "to finish."
- 治まる - means "to be at peace", "to suppress" or "to diminish";
- "修まる" - means "to be of good character or perform a splendid action" or "to acquire knowledge or skill."
Kawaru - かわる - 変わる vs 換わる vs 替わる vs 代わる
- 変わる - means "to change state or condition."
- 換わ - means "exchange or change" in English.
- "替わる" - means "to change into something new."
- 代わる means "replace Someone, a role" or "act in Someone's place."
Shi
There are thousands of kanji, or words that are pronounced “shi”, but in most cases, this pronunciation must be present with another kanji, and form more specific words. But it doesn't change the fact that "shi" and several other pronunciations are present in several different kanji.
| シ | from the English "ela" |
| 史 | history |
| 師 | professor |
| 市 | market or city |
| 矢 | arrow |
| 士 | warrior |
| 使 | usar |
| 始 | to start |
| 獅子 | shishi "lion" |
These were some words that have the same pronunciation, I hope it will be enough to instruct a little on this subject. You can find more on the tofugo website.