Quote:
Originally Posted by Maxful
Hi, I would like to know if both 閉める and 閉じる are interchangeable as "Close"?
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The short answer is negative.
You have already asked the same question regarding another pair of verbs but you will need to know that the only time when two verbs are completely interchageable is when you have a Yamato-kotoba verb and its counterpart Chinese loan word. Otherwise, don't even seek interchangeability.
閉める and 閉じる are both originally Japanese words; therefore, there will be no complete interchangeability.
The two verbs even have different antonyms.
開ける ＜＞ 閉める
開く ＜＞ 閉じる
In other words, you can only 閉める the things you can 開ける and you can only 閉じる the things you can 開く.
Once again, don't let the translated English words "open" and "close" fool you. The sooner you break the habit, the faster and more properly you will learn Japanese.
ドアを閉める
ドアを閉じる Both OK
窓を閉める
窓を閉じる Both OK
封筒を閉める straining
封筒を閉じる Better
銀行の口座を閉める barely OK
銀行の口座を閉じる Better and more natural
______
Other examples:
One can only say
本を閉じる
目を閉じる
幕を閉じる
心を閉じる
ネクタイを閉める
蛇口を閉める