isn't this a bit weird? it asked me which of the answers was "busy", but two of the answers mean… - Feed Post by rinkuhero

• 
  VanillaQiwi

  Hm...while you are right, the option you chose specifically means "to be busy with something" instead of being just "busy" (like a 'busy place', perhaps?). This can be frustrating of course, but there is a difference in meaning between those two after all.
  I think it's good that there are those when we learn words - feels like you learn more about the little language details that make a language lively. Even if it can be a pain haha
  But that are just my two cents :)

  August 10, 2014 at 8:42am
• 
  mog86uk

  VanillaQiwi has answered well already.
  
  賑やか is listed as 'busy, bustling'.
  忙しい is listed as 'busy (with something)'.
  
  I think it would be better if 賑やか was listed as just 'bustling', or give 忙しい some extra specifics like 'busy, occupied, engaged'.
  
  Both are adjectives and both do mean busy, just in quite different ways.
  
  賑 means 'bustling, flourishing, prosperity'. It's components are: left = 'seashell' (clams used to be used for money, like coins); right = 'sign of the dragon' (this component also originally meant 'clam'...). So both parts of this kanji are to do with money.
  
  忙 means 'busy, occupied, restless'. It's components are: left = 'heart'; right = 'perish, dying, deceased'. So a perishing heart, as in getting worn out and tired, because you are very busy with what you are doing.
  
  Hopefully this makes it easier to understand the difference. 賑やか could be used for a shop with lots of customers (lots of money being made); 忙しい could be used for a person under a heavy workload (the busyness is tiring, and the person can't stop to relax or do other stuff). ^^

  August 10, 2014 at 12:23pm