Quote:
Originally Posted by KyleGoetz
Time for a list of new questions! A great many questions!  |
石、岩、岩石 How are these words different? Is 岩 a different size? Does it sound more like a boulder (I notice there is the mountain radical in the kanji)? Is 岩石 more scientific/literary/technical? It's kango, which is why I was thinking so.
石 any small stone/rock you find on the street, in the school yard, in the park, etc.
岩 we usually use this to refer to a larger stone in the mountains or by a river.
岩石 is our usual kango for scientific/technical use.
What about
:
1. 谷 vs. 渓谷 Is just one more literary/scholarly/scientific?
Exactly.
2. 増す vs. 増える synonyms? They're both native Japanese intransitive verbs meaning "to increase."
As has been answered, the former is both trans. and intrans. When it's used as an intransitive verb, it sounds less casual than 増える.
3. 分量 and 量
Generally interchangeable. 量 tends to sound a bit more scientific than 分量, but most of us couldn't care less.
4. 減少する and 減る—is the former just more technical/formal/stiff sounding?
Precisely.
5. 省みる and 反省する—same as in #4?
Classical case of Yamato vs. Kango.
6. 空の and 空っぽの for "empty"—how are they different? The latter sounds "cute" or very conversational to my ear.
You're acquiring a Japanese ear. Latter can sound pretty childish even though many adults use it.
7. 固い／堅い／硬い—This can be passed upon. I know it's a bit tougher, and reading the Japanese explanations made it difficult. I think the first is a bit more like "unchanging" like being stubborn or something.
This isn't very simple. I'll sleep on it.
8. バス停／停留所—Is the latter just more like what you'd see in a journal article or something more technical?
Former is the usual choice. Latter carries a somewhat poetic overtone.