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Know Nuance, and No Nuisance

March 23, 2025

This post aims to explain nuances of Japanese words that may not be immediately obvious (especially those whose dictionary definitions are too imprecise).

New entries will be added as I find interesting words to compare.

Notations:

  • *: Grammatically incorrect
  • !: Doesn’t make sense, or means something different from what’s intended
  • ?: Likely conveys the intended meaning but is unnatural
  • (nothing): Natural

To check how words are used, I mainly use Massif and NINJAL-LWP.

手伝う, 助ける, 救う, 救出する / help, rescue #

手伝う

  • Used for helping someone with a task by directly getting involved in it, cooperating with the person/people. Indirect involvement such as giving advice a few times wouldn’t count as 手伝う. The doer has to be animate.
  • One exception is the phase Nも手伝って, where N is an inanimate thing and is one of the reasons/factors that contributes to the result described in the main clause.

助ける

  • In everyday conversation, this is usually used when helping someone out of some undesirable situation they can’t resolve themselves. However, the noun form 助け is often used for less “serious” help, sometimes the doer being inanimate.

救う

  • This also means helping someone out, but more dramatic than 助ける, often out of life-threatening dangers or serious personal problems. It can be physical or emotional.

救出する

  • Close to “rescue”. Similar to 救う, but less dramatic and mostly physical. The doer is usually animate, often a professional like a firefighter, soldier, etc. Commonly used in news.

Examples #

晩ごはん作るのを{手伝って / ? 助けて}くれない？

Can you help me make dinner?

この教科書は、私の日本語の勉強を大いに{! 手伝って / ? 助けて}くれた。

This textbook greatly helped me study Japanese.

The 助ける version is okay but sounds pretty stiff (because Japanese tends to NOT use inanimate subjects with volitional verbs) so you’re unlikely to hear this kind of sentence in everyday conversations.

アニメの流行も{手伝って}、日本への観光客は急増している。

We’re seeing a surge in travelers to Japan, partly due to the popularity of Anime.

This is the exception usage mentioned above.

職場の人間関係で深刻に悩んでいたところを、田中さんが{# 手伝って / 助けて}くれた

I was struggling with personal issues with coworkers but, thank God, Tanaka helped me out.

手伝う doesn’t fit because solving the issues is not a clearly defined task.

コミュニケーションのスキルを磨いておくと、様々な場面で{助け}になる。

Building communication skills helps you in various situations.

人生に絶望していたが、田中さんの言葉に{救われた / 助けられた / # 手伝われた / # 救出された}

I lost faith in life but Tanaka’s word change my life.

理解する, 分かる, 知る / understand, know #

理解する

  • to come to a state where something makes sense to you logically. To 理解する a problem is to comprehend it, which doesn’t mean you’ve found an answer.

わかる

  • W1. same as 理解する
  • W2. to discover an answer (“Aha!”) to a problem (ranging from a simple fact question to a difficult math problem that needs some thinking)
  • W3. to be able to tell something is the case
  • W4. to recognize or be familiar with something (without necessarily understanding it deeply)

知っている

  • to know what something is, without necessarily understanding it deeply. You have acquired the knowledge before, not now.

Examples #

この本読んだけど、よく{わからなかった (W1) / 理解できなかった / ? 理解しなかった}

I read this book but couldn’t really understand it.

(Showing someone a fact question)

昨日のテストのこの問題{わかった (W2) / ? 理解した / ? 理解できた}？

Did you figure out this question in the test yesterday?

Unless you’re asking if they understood what the question was asking, 理解 wouldn’t fit.

(You were asked to find the difference between two almost identical pictures and you finally figure it out.)

{わかった (W2) / ? 理解した}！

Got it!

理解する doesn’t fit because it’s about finding an answer, not about logical understanding.

今回失敗したらもうチャンスはないって{理解してる / わかってる (W1) / ? 知ってる}？

Do you understand if you fail this time there won’t be any more chances?

Using 知る makes it sound as if the listener isn’t involved with the task at all.

(Your friend looks annoyed)

イライラしてるのは{わかる (W3) / ? 理解してる / ! 知ってる}。でももうちょっと周りの人のことを考えて

I know you’re annoyed. But I want you to be more considerate to others.

知ってる doesn’t fit because it’s not prior knowledge you’ve already had. You’re seeing it right now.

A: レストランで態度の悪い客見ると、超いらいらしない？

B: え、その気持ちすごく{わかる (W4) / 理解できる / ! 知ってる}！

A: Don’t you get frustrated when you see a customer being rude in a restaurant?

B: OMG, I know exactly how that feels!

知ってる isn’t suitable because it’s about recognizing the feeling rather than about having it as conceptual knowledge.

この車、いくらするか{知り / ! わかり / ! 理解し }たい？

Do you want to know how much this car cost?

揺する, 揺らす, 揺さぶる, 揺るがす, 揺れる, 揺らぐ / shake #

These words are obviously all based on the idea of “shake” and are often interchangeable.

Physical meanings:

  • 揺れる (intransitive): to shake slowly or sway as something like a pendulum (Vibrating doesn’t count).
  • 揺らす (transitive): to make something 揺れる
  • 揺する/揺さぶる (transitive): Similar to 揺らす but the target is usually something firm that doesn’t sway naturally if you let it go, such as a pan, bottle, table, etc.

Figurative meanings:

  • 揺らぐ (intransitive): for belief, trust, choice, preference, relationship, social status, system, etc. to destabilize.
  • 揺さぶる (transitive): to stir someone’s heart positively (心を揺さぶる), to make something 揺らぐ, to make someone feel uneasy/worried/nervous strategically, or to 揺する physically.
  • 揺るがす (transitive): Similar to 揺らぐ but destabilizing in a fundamental/significant way.