Vocabulary

Memory tip利用 = useful use

Think of 利用 as “putting something to useful use.” When you 利用 an app, service, or system, you are not just touching it — you are using it for a purpose. 使用 is plainer hands-on use; 活用 is using something to its full potential.

Memory tip使用 = use a tool

使用 is the practical “use” of a tool, feature, or device. Imagine pressing a button, opening a function, or using equipment at work. 利用 leans toward services you benefit from; 使用 is the plain physical act.

Memory tip活用 = make it useful

活用 means using something well, not just using it. Think of taking your Japanese, your experience, or your data and making it actively useful. It is 使用 with the volume turned up.

Memory tip応募 = answer an opportunity

応募 feels like “responding to an opportunity.” When a job is open and you send your application, you are answering that chance. 募集 is the company casting the net; 応募 is you swimming into it.

Memory tip募集 = now recruiting

募集 is the “now hiring” poster — a company or group openly gathering people or entries. 応募 is your reply to it, and 採用 is the happy ending.

Memory tip採用 = company chooses

採用 is the company side of the story. 応募 is when you apply; 採用 is when the company chooses and hires someone. It also works for ideas — a proposal that gets adopted is 採用された.

Memory tip面接 = job interview

面接 is the face-to-face test — the interview room, the questions, your rehearsed 自己紹介. A way to hold it: face (面) making direct contact (接).

Memory tip退職 = leave the company

退職 is stepping out of a company for good — resignation or retirement. The letter you hand in is a 退職届.

Memory tip出勤 = go in to work

出勤 is clocking in — physically showing up for work. Its evening mirror is 退勤, and the trip between home and office is 通勤.

Memory tip退勤 = leave work for the day

退勤 is walking out the office door at the end of the day — off the clock. It pairs with 出勤 like sunset with sunrise.

Memory tip通勤 = the commute

通勤 is the daily loop between home and work — the packed train, the transfer, the walk. 通勤時間 is the commute time everyone asks about when you move.

Memory tip担当 = in charge of it

担当 is having something on your plate officially — the account, the module, the client. The 担当者 is “the person in charge” you ask for on the phone.

Memory tip管理 = manage / keep in order

管理 is keeping something under control over time — servers, schedules, buildings. A 管理者 is an administrator, and 管理画面 is the admin panel.

Memory tip営業 = sales

Make 営業 yours: write one short sentence about “sales” from your own life, and this word will come back when you actually need it.

Memory tip販売 = selling

Tie 販売 to one concrete moment from your own week in Japan where “selling” came up — a word anchored to a real scene sticks far better than a definition.

Memory tip提出 = hand it in

提出 is handing work in — the report crossing from your hands to theirs before the deadline. 金曜日までに提出してください is a sentence you will hear often.

Memory tip提案 = propose an idea

提案 is putting an idea on the table — “how about we do it this way?” It works in meetings and in pull requests alike.

Memory tip依頼 = formal work request

依頼 is a formal request for someone to do work — a client asking for a design, a team asking you for a review. Politer and more official than a casual お願い.

Memory tip指示 = instructions from above

指示 is a direction from above — do this, in this order. You follow them: 指示に従う. A pointing finger (指) showing (示) the way is an easy image to keep.

Memory tip指導 = guidance

When you meet 指導 in real text, pause on it once — meeting “guidance” in the wild a single time beats ten flashcard passes.

Memory tip教育 = education

When you meet 教育 in real text, pause on it once — meeting “education” in the wild a single time beats ten flashcard passes.

Memory tip訓練 = training

When you meet 訓練 in real text, pause on it once — meeting “training” in the wild a single time beats ten flashcard passes.

Memory tip開発 = develop / build new

開発 is building something new over time — features, products, land. Software people live inside this word: 開発中 means “in development.”

Memory tip設計 = design the blueprint

設計 is the blueprint stage — deciding how a thing will be built before anyone builds it. Database schemas, UI layouts, and bridges all start as 設計.

Memory tip操作 = operation (of a machine)

Tie 操作 to one concrete moment from your own week in Japan where “operation (of a machine)” came up — a word anchored to a real scene sticks far better than a definition.

Memory tip入力 = input (type it in)

入力 is data going in — typing into a field, filling a form. 出力 is what comes back out. Input and output, exactly as the kanji arrows suggest: in-power, out-power.

Memory tip出力 = output

出力 is what the system pushes out — printouts, logs, results. The partner word of 入力: what goes in must come out.

Memory tip登録 = register / sign up

登録 is putting yourself (or data) onto the official list — creating an account, registering an address at city hall. 会員登録 is the “sign up” button.

Memory tip保存 = save / keep

保存 is keeping something safe for later — the save button, leftovers in the fridge, files on a drive. 保存しましたか is the question that prevents heartbreak.

Memory tip削除 = delete

削除 is removing for real — the deleted file, the dropped row. In any UI it is the button that deserves a confirmation dialog.

Memory tip検索 = search

検索 is hunting through data for a match — the search bar, the query. ググる is slang; 検索 is the proper word on every website.

Memory tip更新 = update / renew

更新 is bringing something up to date — a page refresh, a renewed contract, an updated record. ページを更新してください: please reload the page.

Memory tip接続 = connect

接続 is making a connection — Wi-Fi joining, a database answering, a cable clicking in. 接続できません is the error nobody wants to see.

Memory tip送信 = send (data/mail)

送信 is hitting send — mail, forms, data leaving your side. 受信 is the same message landing on the other side.

Memory tip受信 = receive (data/mail)

受信 is receiving what was sent — incoming mail, downloaded data. Your inbox is literally a 受信箱, a “receiving box.”

Memory tip処理 = process / deal with

処理 is working through something until it is dealt with — a batch job, an order, an error. データ処理 is data processing; 処理中 is the spinner on the screen.

Memory tip対応 = handle / respond

対応 is responding to whatever comes at you — a support ticket, a bug, a customer. 対応中 means “on it,” and 対応できます also means something is compatible.

Memory tip対策 = countermeasure

Tie 対策 to one concrete moment from your own week in Japan where “countermeasure” came up — a word anchored to a real scene sticks far better than a definition.

Memory tip解決 = solved

解決 is the knot coming undone — problem solved, case closed. 問題を解決する is the phrase every incident report wants to end with.

Memory tip判断 = judgment call

判断 is the judgment call — weighing what you know and deciding. 判断が難しい: a hard call. 決定 is the decision made final; 判断 is the weighing itself.

Memory tip決定 = final decision

決定 is the decision landing — stamped, official, done. 判断 weighs; 決定 commits. 正式決定 means it is now beyond debate.

Memory tip選択 = choose from options

選択 is picking one from several — options on a screen, paths in a career. A list of choices is 選択肢, and every settings menu is full of them.

Memory tip変更 = a change

変更 is switching something to something else — the meeting moved, the spec changed. It says nothing about better or worse: 修正 fixes, 改善 improves, 変更 just changes.

Memory tip修正 = fix / correct

修正 is fixing what is wrong — the typo, the bug, the miscalculation. Smaller than a redesign: you correct the course, not the direction. Commit messages in Japan are full of 修正.

Memory tip調整 = fine-tune / coordinate

調整 is fine-tuning until things fit — schedules aligned, settings dialed in. 日程調整, the eternal calendar dance of finding a time everyone can make.

Memory tip調査 = investigate

調査 is going and finding out — gathering facts, surveying users, digging into logs. 確認 verifies what you already expect; 調査 uncovers what you do not know yet.

Memory tip分析 = analyze

分析 is taking data apart to see what it means — breaking the numbers down until a pattern shows. データ分析 is the daily bread of every dashboard.

Memory tip比較 = compare

比較 is putting two things side by side — plans, prices, benchmarks — to see the difference clearly. Comparison sites are 比較サイト.

Memory tip評価 = evaluate / rate

評価 is assigning value after looking closely — a performance review, a star rating, an assessment. 高く評価される means your work is well regarded.

Memory tip検討 = think it over

検討 is turning an idea over carefully before deciding. Note the business nuance: 検討します can be a polite maybe. 確認 checks facts, 調査 gathers them, 検討 weighs them.