日韓の類語表現とその連語

Abstract

Japanese is a unique language, not least because it makes use of three different types of letters, i.e. Hiragana, Katakana and Chinese characters. In many cases, each letter does not only have its own word referring to the same concept, e.g. 「嫉妬」「やきもち」「ジェラシー」for jealousy, but also could possibly embarrass speakers and writers if they do not discern the subtle but distinct nuances among the seemingly same words. The aim of this paper is to help avoid such confusing and baffling cases, by presenting key vocabulary, its usage and precautions. Of equally significance of this article, however, is its focus on a learning concept called 'collocation.' Rather than randomly studying vocabulary and expressions one by one, it is more instructive and productive to take note of the 'pairing' or 'coupling' of words. As is the case with Japanese language, Korean has purely native vocabulary as well as loanword widely used in daily conversation. This also contributes to the existence of several words referring to a similar or the same notion, which is another similarity between Korean and Japanese language. With this phenomenon in mind, this article chooses 10 commonly used synonyms in Japanese language and analyzes their differences, first semantically and then in terms of collocation (based on the connection between the given words and postpositions and verbs. It is followed by the comparison of 10 synonyms of Korean and Japanese languages in light of the relevant issues in language education. In conclusion, it brings attention to an effective education method for the selected 10 words.