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KEEPER_OF_MEMORIESLv.65

銀杏樹

Japanese Words That Look Similar

There are actually quite a few words that differ by only one or two characters, making them easy to mistake at first glance 🤔 Here are a few examples: アパート (Apartment) デパート (Department store) ペット (Pet) ベッド (Bed) グラス (Glass/Tumbler/Grass) ガラス (Glass) カラス (Crow) トラック (Truck) ドラッグ (Drugs) ブラック (Black) サイン (Sign/Signal) コイン (Coin) アルコール (Alcohol) アンコール (Encore) ダンス (Dance) タンス (Chest of drawers/Wardrobe) ベランダ (Veranda/Balcony) ラベンダー (Lavender) Don't these all look really similar?~~ And most of these types of words are loanwords, so they can be easy for beginners to misread or misremember. It's like a beginner's trap, isn't it? 😂

2026.08.31 PM 2:32 · View Count 92

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FORGETFUL

Lv.79

莉雅醬

That's so similar!

1
2026.08.31 AM 6:48

NORMIE

Lv.101

離雪

So similar, gotta distinguish them properly.

1
2026.08.31 AM 7:15

FORGETFUL

Lv.30

阿月貓

Looks like it!

2
2026.08.31 AM 8:57

OPEN_GEM_WALLET

Lv.102

伊歐

Since it's a loanword written in Katakana, if you're really unsure, you can just say the English word out loud to tell the difference, but if your English isn't good... just pretend I said nothing 🤣

1
2026.08.31 AM 10:26

COMMUNITY_DWELLER

Lv.33

野生喵喵怪

Apartment: apartment Department store: department store The English for department store isn't just department 😠 It's department store 😠 Japanese removes 'store' 'Department' in English means 'division' 😡 Many people get confused when they learn this word 🥹 It's just that 'division' has a different original Japanese word (Is it like 'kaisha' [company]? Anyway, I don't know 😭 Pet: pet Bed: bed Glass: glass (drinking glass, tumbler, grass) But 'grass' in English is 'grass' 😱 'Garasu': glass (What's the difference? 😭 'Karasu': Crow isn't a loanword 😱 Truck: truck Drug: drug (poison or medicine) Black: black Sign: sign (signature, sign, signal) Coin: coin Alcohol: alcohol Encore: encore (French) Dance: dance Tansu: This isn't a loanword 😱 It's the Japanese word '簞笥' It means a chest of drawers or wardrobe 🫠 Veranda: veranda (Portuguese) Lavender: lavender

2
2026.09.01 AM 4:58

LEGENDARY_PARTY

Lv.39

團長喵喵

It's too long and all in English, my head is spinning😵💫

1
2026.09.01 AM 5:35

LEGENDARY_PARTY

Lv.39

團長喵喵

Foreign words = maybe a stylish image lol By the way, foreign words aren't just from English but also from German, Dutch, etc.

2
2026.09.01 AM 5:41