(勤・努・勉)める Distinction
 

I was flipping through my copy of NTC's 新漢字字典 and came across this:

勉める, usu. 努める
Is there a difference here like there is with 川・河 that has been covered here previously? I'd never even seen 勉める before! I'd always used 努める to write it.

I know that 勤める should be distinguished from those because they mean "to try hard" or "to make efforts," while the latter means "to be employed (by)."

There is no difference in meaning between 努める and 勉める. But I would not call those interchangeable because if you use 勉める in business letters, you're pretty much out. Some writers MAY prefer using the latter for their own aesthetic reasons, but this isn't certainly something I can recommend that Japanese learners follow unless they are already good enough to write books in the language.

Thanks, Nagoyankee. I came across it because I'm making some flashcards for the Joyo kanji that are in files for a really good flashcard program called 暗記. I know there's a need for good ones.

Basically, while adding the JLPT3 kanji to the list, I came across a reading of 勉 that I'd never seen: つと・める. Thus, I was intrigued enough to ask.

I would definitely use 努める because that's what I always thought was correct.

Thank you for the input. Maybe one day, many decades from now, I'll get to the point where I can even understand this aesthetic preference for using alternate kanji. I don't pretend to understand it now.