Japanese Words that are the Same – What is the Difference?

Previously, we talked about similar and alike ideograms, but have you noticed that in Japanese there are several words that are similar, with the same pronunciation and practically the same meaning? What is the difference between them?

In this article, we will look at some well-known words that are practically identical but have some difference, whether in the ideogram or in meaning. They are synonyms and homonyms at the same time.

How to find similar Japanese words?

There are thousands of Japanese words with the same pronunciation and meaning, but they have their differences and a different meaning. This happens because of the reading of the radical that is practically the same.

Learning these words will improve the speed at which we learn Japanese and at the same time will make it easier to relate to other words.

You can use jisho or our recent dictionary, and on the word page, you will find other forms. Generally, these other forms specify the alternative meaning of a certain word.

Also, observe the other words when searching in the dictionary. That’s why we recommend always searching with kana or romaji to get similar pronunciation results. You can also search by meaning in English.

hajime – [始め] vs. [初め] – Beginning

Both words are pronounced hajime and convey the idea of the beginning or start of something. What is the difference between these two words?

Hajime [始め] means beginning, to start, initiation, opening, first, origin, etc. It is usually used to initiate something new, suggesting the start of an action or process.

Hajime [初め] conveys the idea of first, principle, origin, introduction, firstly, preface, and others. It indicates a certain point, a tangible dimension in time or space.

HITORI – [一人] vs. [独り] – ONE PERSON

Both words are pronounced hitori and convey the idea of one person or alone. The difference is that hitori [一人] literally uses the ideograms for one person, while [独り] uses the ideogram for unique and alone.

Hitori [一人] emphasizes the quantity of people. On the other hand, [独り] refers to the state of being alone, by oneself, without interacting with others. It literally refers to the state of solitude.

An example is in the word hitorigoto [独り言] which means talking to oneself, monologue, soliloquy. Hitorijime [独り占め] means monopolization, and also hitoritabi [一人旅] which means traveling alone or solitary journey.

ARU – [有る] vs. [在る] – TO BE PRESENT

Aru is one of the most important verbs in the Japanese language. Used as a complement in various sentences and verbs, it can mean to be, to exist, and to be present. But did you know that aru [ある] commonly written in hiragana has differences?

First, we have the verb [有る] which means to be in possession of something, it can be equivalent to “to have” and “to possess.” It also means to be, to exist, to be located, to be equipped, to happen, and others.

Meanwhile, [在る] has practically the same meaning but conveys the idea of the existence of something specifically in a designated location. We can use it to refer to the location or presence of something.

Both are usually written in hiragana, so we rarely need to differentiate between these words. Whenever we read a sentence with [ある], we already know its meaning.

You can see these ideograms used in words like: Arubeki [有るべき] which means ideal, desirable, how it should be, target, and objective; Arugamama [在るが儘] which means in truth, as it is, as you are, and in practice.

Other similar Japanese words but with differences

Fune means ship in Japanese, but [船] is used for ships and large vessels, while [舟] is used for boats or small vessels. Machi can mean busy street [街] or a large city [町].

Marui represents circles or circumferences where marui [丸い] refers to spheres and other three-dimensional balls. Meanwhile, marui [円い] refers to circles and circumferences in two dimensions.

The next example is not necessarily the same word. Stomach in Japanese is said onaka [お腹], but there is also the Japanese word naka [中] which means center, middle, internal, and also refers to the inside of us. This shows how Japanese relates words to make our lives easier.

There are two ways to write the verb miru which are [見る] and [観る] where both practically mean to see. The difference is that [観る] specifies more that you are watching something like TV. There are other variations of miru such as [診る] and [看る] each rarely used, but used for specific situations.

We have already written an article about miru that you can read by clicking here. I hope you enjoyed the small examples in this article. If you liked it, share and leave your comments.