Are these Japanese words and phrases the same?

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  Medyrius February 26, 2014 at 4:32pm

  They sensibly mean the same thing in most cases and would only differ in the way they would be used in a sentence... For some of them, the kanji choice is deliberately pointing to a specific meaning but it's not always the case, sometimes it's only a matter of kanji choice or obsolete kanjis...
  Instead of trying to explain the differences, I'll suggest u visit jisho.org and type each word to see a very detailed list of meanings. U can also hit the "sentence" link under each occurrence to view a list of common usages... That's what I do whenever I run into similarly meaning words with tricky nuances... Hope it helps ;)
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  adkdcmorgan February 26, 2014 at 8:03pm

  I agree with Medyrius. I am sure his experience is higher than mine but I was thinking the same thoughts. In my limited experience, 速い is usually fast and 早い is usually early.
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  adkdcmorgan February 26, 2014 at 8:03pm

  I agree with Medyrius. I am sure his experience is higher than mine but I was thinking the same thoughts. In my limited experience, 速い is usually fast and 早い is usually early.
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  kekkou February 27, 2014 at 4:10am

  Thanks for the help.
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  Annick February 28, 2014 at 6:14am

  I'm afraid, I'm not experienced enough to help you with those. I think ...(but I may be wrong)
  
  梅雨 (plum rain) refers to Japanese rainy season
  雨季 rainy season in general
  
  研究 research (in a scientific way)
  調べる investigate, examine, get information about
  
  絶対に (absolute) used with negative
  必ず (inevitable, must be?) express certitude based on logic, facts
  
  援助 aid, assistance, financial support
  手伝う help someone to do something, give a hand
  
  揺る to shake, rock, swing (train, earthquake, boat)
  振る to wave, shake (hand, head)
  
  時代 times, those days, era
  年代 date, period (example: in the eighties)
  
  友人 more formal
  友達 originally used as plural form, some people still use it for "friends"
  
  何故 why (more formal)
  如何して why, how,
  
  I also agree with Medyrius.
  
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  kekkou February 28, 2014 at 6:27am

  Thanks, Annick.