表現の違い
日常会話で使う表現と学術的文章で使う表現との相違点
| 相違点 | 日常会話で使う表現 | 学術的文章で使う表現 |
|---|---|---|
| 動詞（V）の連用接続 | Vて、 | V,（Vはます形） |
| Vなくて・Vないで、 | Vず・Vずに、 | |
| Vていて、 | Vており、 | |
| Vていなくて、 | Vておらず、 | |
| 終助詞「か」を使った発問 | （ん）ですか | （の）だろうか・（の）か |
| ますか | ||
| その他の終助詞 | ね、よ、わ、さ、etc | -- |
| かな、かしら | だろうか | |
| 接続助詞 | けど、けれども | が |
| たら | ば・と | |
| 接続詞 | だから、ですから | そのため、そこで、したがって |
| でも、だけど | しかし | |
| 副詞 | だいたい | 約、ほぼ、およぞ |
| とても | きわめて | |
| だんだん | 次第に、徐々に | |
| 疑問表現 | どんな | どのような、いかなる |
| 指示表現 | こんな | このような、こうした |
| 縮約形 | じゃ | では |
| Vてる | Vている | |
| その他 | 和語 | 漢語 |
| 敬語 | 敬語を使わない表現 |
While 漢語 is more formal/technical/academic than the 和語 equivalent in most cases, there are a few exceptions.
- 一番 (kango) is less formal/academic than 最も (wago).
- 喧嘩 (kango) is less formal than 争い (wago).
- 本当に (kango) is less formal/polite than 誠に (wago) in greetings.
漢語 (Chinese-origin) vs 和語 (Japanese-origin) word table
Japanese takes a lot from Chinese in its origin, as the language was shaped on top of the kanji writing system (Japanese writing systems) in its history. However, on the other hand, the kanji writing system was also adapted on top of the already existing spoken Japanese language.
This gave birth to two sets of words/compound phrases to say similar things in the language. These are so-called 漢語 (かんご, chinese + language) and 和語 (わご, japanese + language) words.
Differences
漢語 words are usually written as kanji compounds and usually read the Chinese way (音読み), whereas 和語 words are usually written as single kanji + おくりがな and read the Japanese way (訓読み), although this is not a hard rule, there are exceptions.
A lot of 漢語 verbs take する and usually have a 和語 counterpart which may or may not have a slightly different meaning. 漢語 する verbs are usually used in more official situations and sound more fancy/stiff, whereas 和語 words are simpler and easier to the ear. However, it is normal in everyday Japanese speech to use either in equal frequency so both options should be studied and remembered equally.
Comparison Table
The following is a table of 和語 vs 漢語 word examples that I stumbled upon just randomly.
For 和語 verbs, I list either transitive or intransitive form as I see fit, but keep in mind that it doesn’t really matter, it works either way. What’s important to keep in mind is the kanji+おくりがな pairing vs the jukugo pair in 漢語.
| 和語 | 漢語 |
|---|---|
| 加わる | 参加する |
| 変わる | 変化する |
| 止まる | 停止する |
| 話す | 会話する |
| 歩く | 散歩する |
| 探す | 探索する |
| 訳す | 翻訳する |
| 黙る | 沈黙する |
| 過ごす | 経過する |