# 単語 / 字



## Pacerier

Is it true that 単語 is an abstract entity of a word and 字 is a physical entity of a word? E.g. if i want to look up a word in a dictionary it is 辞書で単語を調べる but if i were to say the dictionary has 500 words it will be 辞書に字が５００ある
<on a side note, for the above sentence, is it better to use ある or its kanji equiv >


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## Ghabi

If I'm not mistaken, 単語 is the same as the Chinese 单词 "word", the spoken unit, in contrast to 字 "character", the written unit (as in 常用漢字). A "word" 単語, if written down, can contain more than one "character" 字. For example, 常用 is one word, but contains two characters when written down.


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## Aoyama

> 単語, if written down, can contain more than one "character" 字


something like that ...
the concept of "word" is different in languages using an alphabet and in languages using ideograms (in that respect, Japanese and Chinese are similar).
A 単語 can be formed with one 字, then it will be called both 字 or 単語.
For example, simple "words" like _white_, _black, tall, big _etc will be expressed with one character (plus, eventually, a kana).
More complicated words will include two, even three characters.


> if i were to say the dictionary has 500 words it will be 辞書に字が５００ある


No. You'll have to use 単語.


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## Ghabi

Aoyama said:


> A 単語 can be formed with one 字, then it will be called both 字 or 単語.


In eveyday life we can say that I think, but in a lingusitic context I think we should say "morpheme" 形態素 here.


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## Pacerier

in japanese essays, do we usually count the number of words? like in english, we say an essay of 1500 words, how will the number of words in a japanese essay be counted?


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## Aoyama

> in Japanese essays, do we usually count the number of words? like in english, we say an essay of 1500 words, how will the number of words in a Japanese essay be counted?


Good question ! In Japan, we usually talk about "400 ji zume (shi/kami)" (400 characters filled page), regardless of the actual number of "words/tango". Here, only "ji" are counted (unfair, somewhere).


> In everyday life we can say that I think, but in a linguistic context I think we should say "morpheme" 形態素 here.


right.


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## Pacerier

however as for words that do not have a kanji equivalent, like とても, will it take up 3 "boxes" or square grids?


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## Aoyama

Yes, theoretically it will, because _one _kana will count as _one _"ji". Unfair somewhere.


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## Ghabi

Pacerier said:


> however as for words that do not have a kanji equivalent, like とても, will it take up 3 "boxes" or square grids?


On a 原稿用紙, each kana, kanji and punctuation (except …… and ──) occupies one grid.


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## Aoyama

> On a 原稿用紙, each kana, kanji and punctuation (except …… and ──) occupies one grid.


Exactly. I would say that ... and ── do also .


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## Pacerier

oic, thanks for the information =D


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## Flaminius

For 辞書に字が５００ある,
I'd say:
この辞書は500語を収録している。


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## Pacerier

> For 辞書に字が５００ある,
> I'd say:
> この辞書は500語を収録している。


heys, is it possible to say この辞書は500語を収録してある as well or will it sound weird?


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## Aoyama

It will sound weird ...


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## Pacerier

ok thanks for the reply


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