Choice of kana versus kanji

[Belton]

I was wondering are there rules about when to use kana in preference to kanji?

Specifically I'm thinking about

ください　or 　下さい
あげる　or 　上げる
さしあげる　or 　差し上げる
ほうがいい　or 　方がいい　
ことができます　or 　事が出来ます
いい　or 　良い

Is it personal preference? or is it specific to a particular construction?

[Alan]

Possibly laziness in writing the more complex kanji?
...although that can't really apply to Kudasai.

[Belton]

Possibly laziness in writing the more complex kanji?

Maybe. But what about typesetting?

[JockZon]

I have never seen kudasai in kanji. Maybe it's the same as you never write konnichiwa in kanji? I know that ii is almost always written in hiragana and if it's not, you pronounce it yoi.

[Belton]

Well, in most grammar books I see ください
but I have seen 下さい as well.

Here are some signs from Japan. (I take photos of strange things!) people may also be interested to try to read what these say.


a bridge in nara (and why isn't suwaranai 座らない ? )


in a minsyuku's ofuro

Both using 下さい


Part of a rubbish collection schedule using ください
(You could make good comprehension questions from this one. When do you put out the non-combustable trash?)


Don't know what this is (hope it isn't dodgey ). But you can see 下 used in kudasai and shita(?) (I was actually taking a photo of something beside it) Interesting that yen is in roman letters instead of 円


And a penfriend of mine uses 今日は sometimes and sometimes こんいちは

They also use 沢山 for たくさん (swamp-mountain!)
Where I've also seen 良い where I'd think いい
it could just be hitting the space key and accepting the computer's idea.


mind you no-one should use my english spelling as a model.

[Airth]

I'm not sure there is a clear answer to this. In general, I think a lot of this comes down to style and content, though I'd be interested to hear if there any rules at play.

I have one idea for the bridge in Nara; if the sign was written in kanji （触らないで下さい - Don't touch the hand-rail）young children would in most cases be unable to understand it. For me, the message is clearer and consequently stronger by using Hiragana.

[Brody]

I don't think it's necessarily set rules. It is mostly personal preference. I wrote an essay in Japanese and used a lot of kanji to impress the teacher and a Japanese person who I had proofread it said it looked too much like Chinese with all the kanji. Japanese really like to use the kanas as well.
One things I have seen that is (almost) always in kana is the "sound adverbs" (ie ざざ、ぎりぎり）。
I think it's just personal preference. But that's my guess.

[mikuji]

There definitely is a rule for ください　or 　下さい

A link has already be posted on http://del.icio.us/JapanesePod101/Language to an explanation in Japanese as follows:

http://www5.ocn.ne.jp/~sanai/column/14kuda.html

I seem to remember that the rule is if it is a THING you use the kanji version if it is an ACTION you use the kana version.

For other cases I think it is largely a matter of preference and whether one knows the kanji or not - for example children would use the kana.

Hope this helps
Mikuji

[Airth]

Thanks Mikuji. that is really interesting. Not just for me but also for my Japanese wife, who had no idea there was a clear difference between the two. I wonder just how many Japanese people are aware of the rule, assuming that it is correct of course...