Quote:
Originally Posted by Maxful
Hi, could someone kindly explain to me the difference between 利用する and 使う?
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Are you, like, serious? I have personally explained this to you a couple of times with other word pairs. The better pair to ask this question with, however, would have been 使用する and 使う because 利用する has an extra meaning added to 使用する/使う.
When you have two words for which your dictionary gives you just about the same definitions, here is what you need to remember.
1. Read them
aloud and decide which one is originally Japanese. The other one was borrowed from Chinese. Hint: Kun vs. On
2. The kun-reading word is originally Japanese and vice versa.
3. The on-reading Chinese word will be "just higher", more formal, more technical, more academic, etc. In our Japanese mind, there is a huge neon sign that keeps reminding us that "Great China > Little Japan".
Voila. Just think of "use" and "utilize" in English and where they originate from, and then how those two verbs are used by English-speakers. Same thing in Japanese.