The January newsletter is out, which means the podcast is also out!

I wrote about another Impossible Pair, this time 状態・状況. Give the newsletter a read and the podcast a listen for more details.

One thing I realized while writing is that 状態 (jōtai) is more of a video game word than 状況 (jōkyō).

Take Pokemon, for example. There are lots of different 特殊状態 (tokushu jōtai, special conditions), as they are termed. This is when your Pokemon is poisoned, paralyzed, burned, or inflicted with sleep. Each of these are a 状態 – the “condition” that your Pokemon is, at the moment, in.

This is further support for the idea that I write about in the newsletter that suggests the time element to the difference between these words. Take a look at the newsletter for the full details!