Two-word relations and word meanings

準備 (junbi) and 用意 (yōi) both mean getting things ready in advance, so they are synonyms. Means and method are also synonyms: both are a way of achieving an aim. Income and expenditure are opposites; fruit and mandarin orange are inclusion (fruit contains mandarin orange); tofu and soybeans are product and raw material.

Demand and supply are the two ends of one axis, so they are antonyms. Right and obligation are antonyms too: negating one puts you on the side of the other. Mission and duty are synonyms; insect and dragonfly are inclusion; wine and grapes are product and raw material.

A piano is a kind of musical instrument, so this is inclusion with the broader word on the left. An eraser is likewise a kind of stationery, and the direction matches as well. Agreement and consent are synonyms; active and passive are antonyms; sake and rice are product and raw material.

欠点 (ketten) and 短所 (tansho) both mean a point where something falls short, so they are synonyms. 将来 (shōrai, the time ahead) and 未来 (mirai, the future) are synonyms too: both mean time still to come. Production and consumption are antonyms; birds and sparrow are inclusion; butter and milk are product and raw material.

Subjective and objective are antonyms. Concrete and abstract are antonyms too: they are the two ends of how something is grasped. 生涯 (shōgai, lifetime) and 一生 (isshō, whole life) are synonyms; ball games and volleyball are inclusion; miso and soybeans are product and raw material.

A sparrow is a kind of bird, so this is inclusion with the narrower word on the left. A tulip is likewise a kind of flower, so even the direction matches. Furniture and chest of drawers is also inclusion, but the broader word is on the left, so the direction is reversed. Cautious and reckless are antonyms; silk and cocoon are product and raw material.

Tofu is a different thing processed out of soybeans, so this is the product-and-raw-material relationship. 'Tofu is a kind of soybean' does not hold, so it is not inclusion. The two are neither close in meaning nor opposite in meaning.

秩序 (chitsujo) is a state of being arranged and 混乱 (konran) is a state of being disturbed; they are the two ends of one axis, so they are antonyms. It is not a material relationship, not a closeness of meaning, and not inclusion of one as a kind of the other.

寄与 (kiyo) and 貢献 (kōken) both mean putting one's effort in so as to be of use, so they are synonyms. 面倒 (mendō, troublesome) and 厄介 (yakkai, bothersome) are synonyms too: both mean taking effort and being a nuisance. Warm and cold are antonyms; planet and Mars are inclusion; pottery and clay are product and raw material.

促進 (sokushin) is acting so that something advances and 抑制 (yokusei) is holding it back, so they are antonyms. Dense and thin are the two ends of concentration, so they are antonyms as well. Occupation and teacher are inclusion; 露見 (roken, coming to light) and 発覚 (hakkaku, being discovered) are synonyms; kamaboko and fish paste are product and raw material.

A violin is a kind of string instrument, so this is inclusion with the broader word on the left. Sugar is likewise a kind of seasoning, so even the direction matches. 委細 (isai, particulars) and 詳細 (shōsai, details) are synonyms; substance and form are antonyms; washi paper and paper mulberry are product and raw material.

音信 (onshin) and 消息 (shōsoku) both mean word that tells you how a person is doing, so they are synonyms. 精通 (seitsū, being well versed) and 熟知 (jukuchi, knowing thoroughly) both mean knowing something in detail, so they are synonyms too. Low tide and high tide are antonyms; mammals and whale are inclusion; cotton cloth and raw cotton are product and raw material.

相対 (sōtai) means holding only in relation to something else and 絶対 (zettai) means admitting no comparison, so they are antonyms. 過失 (kashitsu, negligence) is doing something by carelessness and 故意 (koi, intent) is doing it on purpose, which is also an antonym pair. 沿革 (enkaku) and 変遷 (hensen) are synonyms; literature and novel are inclusion; konnyaku jelly and konnyaku potato are product and raw material.

憶測 (okusoku) and 推量 (suiryō) both mean guessing at something without knowing the circumstances, so they are synonyms. 単純 (tanjun, simple) and 複雑 (fukuzatsu, complex) are the two ends of how involved something is, so they are antonyms. Hence the former pair is synonymous and the latter is opposite.

Scissors are a tool used for cutting, and the right-hand word names the action, so this is the tool-and-use relationship. A thermometer is likewise a tool used for measuring. Dog and cat are coordinate terms (both animals); needle and thread form a set used together; butter and milk are product and raw material.

Wine is made from grapes as its material, so this is product and raw material. A shoji screen is likewise made using paper. Pencil and writing are tool and use; mandarin orange and apple are coordinate terms; bow and arrow form a set used together.

Baseball and soccer are coordinate terms sharing the broader word 'ball games'. Pine and cedar are coordinate terms too, sharing the broader word 'trees'. Vacuum cleaner and cleaning are tool and use; silk and cocoon are product and raw material; seal stamp and red ink pad form a set used together.

Needle and thread have no shared broader word; only together do they perform the work of sewing, so they form a set. Bow and arrow are the same: neither is any use on its own. Microscope and observation are tool and use; sake and rice are product and raw material; stationery and eraser are inclusion.

Detergent is used for washing, and the right-hand word names the action, so this is tool and use. A refrigerator is likewise used for keeping food. Mandarin orange and apple are coordinate terms; tofu and soybeans are product and raw material; seal stamp and red ink pad form a set used together.

Kamaboko is made from fish paste as its material, so this is product and raw material. Pottery is likewise made from clay. Brake and stopping are tool and use; doctor and teacher are coordinate terms sharing the broader word 'occupation'; go board and go stones form a set used together.

Violin and cello are coordinate terms sharing the broader word 'string instruments'. Wheat and barley are coordinate terms too, sharing the broader word 'grain of the barley family'. Stove and heating are tool and use; miso and soybeans are product and raw material; drum and drumsticks form a set used together.

観測 (kansoku, observation) names an action and a telescope is the tool used for it, so this is tool and use. A telescope is not made out of observation, does not belong to the same group as observation, and is not something you need a second item to use.

A seal stamp and a red ink pad only perform the work of stamping when they are together, so they form a set. A seal stamp is not a kind of ink pad, is not made out of ink pad as material, and is not its opposite in meaning.

A fire extinguisher is a tool used for putting out fire, and the right-hand word names the action, so this is tool and use. A ruler is likewise a tool used for measuring. Yellow and green are coordinate terms sharing the broader word 'colour'; konnyaku jelly and konnyaku potato are product and raw material; go board and go stones form a set used together.

Silk is made from thread taken from cocoons, so this is product and raw material. Washi paper is likewise made from paper mulberry fibre. Microscope and observation are tool and use; tanka and haiku are coordinate terms sharing the broader word 'fixed-form poetry'; drum and drumsticks form a set used together.

Tanka and haiku are coordinate terms sharing the broader word 'fixed-form poetry'. Copper and iron are coordinate terms too, sharing the broader word 'metal'. Kitchen knife and cutting are tool and use; sugar and sugarcane are product and raw material; seal stamp and red ink pad form a set used together.

Cotton cloth is woven from raw cotton, so it is product and raw material. Mandarin orange and apple are coordinate terms sharing the broader word 'fruit', and neither ever serves as the material of the other.

割愛 is written with the characters for 'cut' and 'attachment', and means letting go of or leaving out something you would rather keep. It never carried the sense of dropping what was unwanted in the first place, so 'throwing away what is not needed' is wrong. Nor does it mean keeping something or sorting things out.

杞憂 comes from the story of a man of the state of Qi who fretted that the sky might fall, so it means a needless worry. Keeping something in mind is 銘記 (meiki); looking ahead and preparing is 備え (sonae) or 用心 (yōjin); feeling sorry for someone is 同情 (dōjō). All of those are the meanings of other words.

示唆 means hinting at something rather than saying it outright, so that the other person notices. Telling someone off firmly is 説諭 (setsuyu); giving a clear order is 指示 (shiji) or 命令 (meirei); asking someone's view is 諮問 (shimon). None of these is the meaning of 示唆.

The character 迭 carries the sense of 'change places', and 更迭 means replacing the person who holds a post. Creating a post is 新設 (shinsetsu); holding two roles is 兼務 (kenmu); stepping away for a while is 休職 (kyūshoku). All are different words.

静観 (seikan) is written with the characters for 'quiet' and 'watch', which is exactly this meaning. 黙殺 (mokusatsu) is ignoring something and refusing to engage; 観念 (kannen) is giving up and resigning yourself; 随行 (zuikō) is going along in attendance on someone. None of them contains the sense of watching over.

気を置く (ki o oku) means to be on your guard with someone. Saying that you 'cannot' do so means no such care is needed, that is, a person you can relax with. Reading it as 'cannot let your guard down' is a well-known misuse, and it is the exact opposite.

ならず attaches to 人のため, so the sense is 'not only for the other person'. The saying therefore teaches that kindness comes back to you. Reading it as 'it does the person no good' mistakes which part the negation attaches to, and is a misuse.

What falls short is the role, not the person's ability. When the ability falls short, the word to use is 力不足 (chikarabusoku). Not having enough people is 人手不足 (hitodebusoku), and shrinking back is 尻込み (shirigomi).

It comes from a line of Chinese verse saying that even a rough stone from another mountain can be used to polish your own jade. Taking someone as a model is 亀鑑 (kikan); 他山の石 is strictly about taking another's faults as a warning. It carries neither the sense of being useless nor that of being unrelated.

It comes from the story of people of Wu and Yue, who were enemies, finding themselves in the same boat. Hostility is the premise, so 'getting along' and 'the same goal' do not fit. Walking into danger is 虎穴に入る (koketsu ni iru).

The characters say 'swap the bones, take the womb': you build on an earlier writer's work and make it your own. Copying it as it stands is 剽窃 (hyōsetsu, plagiarism), which is kept distinct from 換骨奪胎. It has nothing to do with working hard or with changing one's body.

The picture is of standing inside a fog that stretches five ri in every direction, which stands for having no view of the way ahead. The word is 霧中 (muchū, 'in the fog'), not the identically pronounced 夢中 ('absorbed'), so it does not mean forgetting yourself. It means neither walking a distance nor being frozen in thought.

Both 敷 and 衍 carry the sense of spreading out, so 敷衍 means opening the content out and explaining it. Shortening is 要約 (yōyaku) and rearranging the order is 倒置 (tōchi); each is either the reverse or a different operation. Stating only the conclusion is 断定 (dantei).