Mokuhyō (目標) and Mokuteki (目的) Part 1

Jun 24, 2018 10:42
Mokuhyō and Mokuteki Part 1

I introduced you to the Japanese word meyasu (目安) yesterday.

Meyasu can mean 'aim,' 'target,' and 'goal,' but this word is rather used to mean 'standard' or 'criterion.'

If you want to mean 'aim,' 'target,' 'goal' or 'objective' explicitly, you can use mokuhyō (目標) or mokuteki (目的).

Here, moku (目) means 'eye,' hyō (標) means 'mark,' and teki (的) means 'target' -- both mokuhyō and mokuteki can be translated as the above-mentioned English words.

However, the usage of these words is different.

I will explain that tomorrow.
目標と目的 Part 1

昨日は「目安」という言葉を紹介しました。

「目安」は 'aim' や 'target,' 'goal' を表すことができますが、どちらかと言うと 'standard' や 'criterion' の意味合いが強いです。

より明示的に 'aim,' 'target,' 'goal,' 'objective' などの意味を表したい場合は、「目標」や「目的」を使います。

「目」は 'eye,' 「標」は 'mark,' 「的」は 'target' を意味し、「目標」と「目的」はどちらも上記のような英単語に訳すことができます。

しかし、「目標」と「目的」の使い方は異なります。

明日はその違いについて説明します。
No. 1　artboy598's correction
  • Mokuhyō (目標) and Mokuteki (目的) Part 1
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • Mokuhyō and Mokuteki Part 1
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • I introduced you to the Japanese word meyasu (目安) yesterday.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • Meyasu can mean 'aim,' 'target,' and 'goal,' but this word is rather used to mean 'standard' or 'criterion.'
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • If you want to mean 'aim,' 'target,' 'goal' or 'objective' explicitly, you can use mokuhyō (目標) or mokuteki (目的).
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • Here, moku (目) means 'eye,' hyō (標) means 'mark,' and teki (的) means 'target' -- both mokuhyō and mokuteki can be translated as the above-mentioned English words.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • However, the usage of these words is different.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • I will explain that tomorrow.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
If you have time, can you explain “anata” to us in a journal? Sometimes I want to use it, but I don’t want to seem rude. It’s hard for English speakers to know when to use “anata” when speaking and writing. Than you.
artboy598
Thank you.
Toru
Thank you for reading my post and suggesting that!
Okay, I will write about that within several days. :)
No. 2　Matt's correction
  • Meyasu can mean 'aim,' 'target,' and 'goal,' but this word is rather used to mean 'standard' or 'criterion.'
  • Meyasu can mean 'aim,' 'target,' and 'goal,' but this word is rather used to mean 'standard' or 'criterion.'
    　I read this sentence fine the first time, but then I read it a second time, and it made me stop. I think it's the use of rather. I actually wrote out a correction and have just deleted that. "Rather" has 2 functions in English (that come to mind here). It can be used in coordination with "but" to highlight a distinction. In that case, it's typical to see "X, but rather Y." The second function is to serve as an intensifier in front of an adjective: "rather intelligent" "rather pretty" etc. With "but" present, it could be interpreted as setting up a distinction, but I don't feel that the sentence conveys a strong enough distinction to merit that, because, in fact, meyasu, as you state, can mean all the ideas you mentioned. So then, the other function might work since "used" is a past participle here and functioning more or less like an "adjective." But that function of rather is more common with typical, descriptive adjectives like the two examples I gave. Like if I heard something is "rather used" I would picture something that is old and falling apart because it has been used a lot. So given that this sentence works and conveys the idea, I think there could be an argument for choosing different wording.

    Ex:

    Meyasu can mean 'aim,' 'target,' and 'goal,' but this word is more typically used to mean 'standard' or 'criterion.'

    or "... but this word more closely means 'standard' or 'criterion.' "

    or "... but the core meaning of this word is closer to 'standard' or 'criterion.' "

    I know we can't do this on lang-8, but I would even italicize "can" so that it is clear that emphasis needs to be put there.

    Thoughts?
What luck! I have been recently contemplating　目標 and 目的. In teaching Japanese in the spring, I didn't know which to use for describing the goals/targets/objectives of our lessons. I tried to keep as much of my talk/writing in Japanese, but I wasn't sure if there was a nuance in usage there. Looking forward to your post!
Toru
Thank you so much for the explanation!
It is beneficial because I was worried about the usage of 'rather.'

I think that your suggestions can convey what I wanted to mean. I also thought about an alternative way of saying; "... but this word tends to be used to mean..." Does it work?

By the way, in my blog, I italicized all Japanese terms, so if it is possible, I would like to emphasize 'can' in bold.
Matt
Sure. Bold can be used for emphasis since italicization is used for foreign text.

"...but this word tends to be used to mean..." is grammatical. It feels a little wordy for a written text, but in conversation I think it would be fine. Actually, I think that was the first phrase that came to my mind for a correction, but I didn't put it because of it's wordy feel. But yes, it definitely works and is perhaps closest to your intended meaning.
Toru
Thank you for your kind explanation!
I understand well. :)
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