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区別 (くべつ) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
Common word JLPT N3 Freq. Frequency Top 5,000 Conjugation Meanings 1
noun, noun or participle which takes 'suru', transitive verb
distinction ; differentiation ; telling apart
Used for recognizing and separating things based on their differences. Can be a noun or a suru-verb. Often implies a conscious act of distinguishing, not just a natural difference.
ご
の
使つか
い
方かた
を
区く
別べつ
し
て
ください
。
Please distinguish between the usages of these two words.
Written forms 区く 別べつ Usage 99%
Standard kanji spelling; high-frequency word in news and everyday usage.
區く 別べつ Usage <1%
search-only kanji form
Kyūjitai form; included for search compatibility.
Kanji 別 separate, branch off, diverge Similar words 差さ 別べつ 差別 often implies unfair discrimination or prejudice, while 区別 is a neutral distinction based on objective differences.
分ぶん 別べつ 分別 focuses on sorting or classifying things into categories, whereas 区別 emphasizes recognizing differences between them.
Etymology Compound of 区 (ku, 'section, division') and 別 (betsu, 'separate, distinction'). The combination naturally yields the meaning of distinguishing or separating things into different categories.
