The premise of this post would’ve made the title too squished so here it is: this post will mention a few pairs of words that have different readings/ definitions, but use the same kanji as each other. Duos like 王国/ 国王 are being excluded, as this post is only about words that use the same kanji in the same order, and 美味しい, 美味い, and 美味, seeing as they have okurigana to distinguish the three. With that out of the way, I hope this post is a pleasant read.
辛い (つらい and からい)
This duo’s particularly fun, since both words are relatively commonplace, so for new learners who only know one or the other, it might be quite confusing. However, since つらい means “painful/ difficult (for situations)” and からい means spicy, the words aren’t likely to be mixed up given context (which fortunately holds true for all of these sets of words).
空く (あく and すく)
These words have similar meanings, but are used in different contexts. あく is usually used to indicate a space is empty or vacant, or if (mostly a time) is free/ available. すく, on the other hand, is to get less crowded or get empty, but most importantly is used to say one’s hungry. The differences between these two verbs make them probably the trickiest to distinguish pair on this list in my opinion.
人気 (にんき, ひとけ, and じんき)
The only trio of words on this list, にんき’s lesser-known siblings are here to make their appearances. While every beginner knows にんき means popular/ popularity, the other two words aren’t quite as helpful. ひとけ means “signs of life, human presence” and じんけ means “the dominant mood of a local, the emotional climate of a district.”
下手 (へた and しもて）
へた is a rather common word, but like several others on this list, it has both an irregular reading and a conventional one, both of which mean different things. へた means “unskillful,” while しもて means “the lower part/ lower direction,” and “stage right.”
上手 (じょうず, うわて, and かみて)
じょうず mirrors its opposite へた, since it means skillful and also has another reading, うわて, which refers to stage directions (in this case, stage right). However, the reading かみて has its own niche, meaning both “the upper part,” and “upper stream.”
心中 (しんちゅう and しんじゅう)
An amusing set of words to share kanji, the two words of this pair have radically different meanings. しんちゅう means one’s true intentions/ motives (or literally in one’s heart), while しんじゅう refers to a lover’s/ double suicide.
罪人 (つみびと and ざいにん)
While most kanji compunds that can be read with either the kun’yomi of both kanji or the on’yomi of both kanji have exactly the same meaning regardless of readings (like 悪口 and 竹林), 罪人 stands as a bizarre exception. つみびと means a sinner, and ざいにん means a criminal. I remember which is which because the reading ざい for 罪 is used in other crime-related words like 犯罪, while 罪 read as つみ on its own means sin.
木馬 (もくば and きうま/ きんま)
These are two relatively obscure words, which I suppose justifies them both having the same kanji without any okurigana or otherwise to distinguish them. もくば means a wooden/ rocking horse, a vaulting horse (used in gymnastics), or the wooden torture device “the horse.” きうま (or きんま, they’re interchangeable readings), however, means a wooden sledge.
A Bonus Entry:
切手 (きって and きれて)
きって is a staple word, but rather unexpectedly has a more obscure relative. きれて means “a man of great ability/ talent,” but can also be written 切れ手, and tends to be to avoid confusion. Because きれて being written as 切手 is irregular, it only gets this honorable mention slot.
This is a topic I’ve wanted to cover for a while, but I left the draft, incomplete and neglected, to sit for a while before finishing it up. Thanks for reading!
Oooh there’s a missing one on here that I also wanna talk about cause it’s kinda the bane of my existence
These both generally have the meaning “to open” in English, which makes it even more confusing in my opinion; あく is used to talk about opening something which was kept closed by something you have to interact with or move. You あく a door because of that little stopper that’s connected to a knob. You あく a jar because the little swirly bits on the lid are keeping it closed.
ひらく is used to talk about something that opens either by itself or is kept closed by something you don’t have to interact with. Automatic Doors ひらく cause as soon as you walk up to it, the doors spring open, you don’t have to mess w/ anything to get them open (I’d say that those Automatic Doors with Buttons for Wheelchair Users are あく though; your action pushing the button is what opens it up).
Another pretty complex nuance: ひらく is used with things that open in more than one direction. Books ひらくbecause their covers move apart in opposite direction. Most modern windows あく since you slide them in one direction, and they’re generally stopped by something. French windows, however, ひらくbecause the windows are opening outward.
The distinction isn’t super clear-cut, but this is a general guide to which one you should use.
Also, there’s the words しめる and とじる, which both use the same Kanji, but have different Okurigana. They’re the same as あく and ひらく, respectively; the difference is they mean for something to shut.
べんきょうしなければならない 