<p>From your question, I have to say your Chinses study is already at a very advanced level. These pairs have only nuanced differences, even for Chinese tongue speakers (which I am). Well, depending on what your goal is: in daily life, I feel you can safely interchange these words with no confusion, but if you aim to be a Chinese master (e.g., work as an editor in a publishing house), you do need to figure out their tiny differences seriously.</p>
<p>I did not have a Chinese major in college, so let me try to address some of the easy ones based on my high school learning (indeed, some of these pairs frequently occur in the National College Entrance Examination of China):</p>
<ol start="5">
<li><p>浑浊 and 混浊:
浑浊 and 混浊 can both be used to describe air and water, etc. is not clear (which are concrete physical substances), and 浑浊 is more frequently used in this setting. 混浊 is more frequently used in a more &quot;abstract&quot; way to describe (political, social, etc.) environments are bad, like dirty water.</p>
</li>
<li><p>摩擦 and 磨擦:
磨擦 means you are really grinding something：磨擦大理石板.<br />
摩擦 is used in a more abstract setting: <br/>
a. 摩擦生热 (friction can generate heat) <br/>
b. 工作中的摩擦 (conflicts in work) <br/>
There is a minimum frequency you use 磨擦; in most of the cases, it's 摩擦.</p>
</li>
<li><p>启程 and 起程:
起程 is more oral, and it is concrete to a trip because usually, you give details of the trip in your sentence (time, destination, etc.): 我们今日起程去北京. <br/>
启程 is more formal, and it can be used in a more abstract way: 启程走向美好未来 (set off for a better future)</p>
</li>
<li><p>人才 and 人材: 人材 is more formal.</p>
</li>
</ol>
<p>In summary, some of these pairs have small differences in that one word is more commonly used to refer to a concrete substance or scenario, and the other one is more often used in a more general and abstract setting.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-30T07:36:37.177Z
2020-08-30T22:04:04.040Z
2020-08-30T22:04:04.040Z
zxzx179
<ol>
<li><p>報導 is more common. 報道 is rare to use.</p>
</li>
<li><p>成分 is correct, 成份 is also very widely used. 份 is a measure word, e.g. 一份報紙 兩份午餐 三份麥當勞.</p>
</li>
</ol>
<p>3.訂單 定單, usually you can use both to express ORDER. e.g. 下訂單 means place an order. Please refer to <a href="https://hinative.com/zh-TW/questions/11595997" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://hinative.com/zh-TW/questions/11595997</a> to see the difference.</p>
<ol start="4">
<li><p>定婚 and 訂婚, you can use 文定 to express the same meaning. e.g. 訂婚喜宴 = 文定喜宴. 訂婚 文定 are more common than 定婚. (Taiwan)</p>
</li>
<li><p>渾濁 and 混濁, e.g. 這池水很混濁 這池水很渾濁, for me, as a native user, it's the same.</p>
</li>
<li><p>摩擦 is more common. e.g. 摩擦生熱(Friction heat). 我和她之間有些摩擦(misunderstand or conflict)</p>
</li>
<li><p>啟程 and 起程, It's ok.</p>
</li>
<li><p>人才 and 人材, It's ok.</p>
</li>
</ol>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-30T07:25:57.607Z
2020-08-30T07:25:57.607Z
HungYu Chang
<p>In the book 汉语国际教育用词语声调组合及轻重音格式实用手册 by 刘英林 [ed.] (considered the likely candidate for the upcoming HSK3.0 vocabulary), the following words seem to be categorized as alternatives:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>报道 and 报导</p>
<p>There are posts like <a href="https://zhidao.baidu.com/question/6755076.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this</a> and <a href="https://wenku.baidu.com/view/af39aa9951e79b896802264a" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this</a> which indicate a difference.</p>
</li>
<li><p>成份 and 成分</p>
<p>CC-CEDICT lists 成份 as &quot;same as 成分&quot;.</p>
</li>
<li><p>定单 and 订单</p>
<p>CC-CEDICT lists 定单 as &quot;variant of 订单&quot;.</p>
</li>
<li><p>定婚 and 订婚</p>
<p>CC-CEDICT lists 定婚 as &quot;variant of 订婚&quot;.</p>
</li>
<li><p>浑浊 and 混浊</p>
<p>There are posts like <a href="https://zhidao.baidu.com/question/1689413450231431428.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this</a> which indicate a difference.</p>
</li>
<li><p>摩擦 and 磨擦</p>
<p>CC-CEDICT lists 磨擦 as &quot;variant of 摩擦&quot;, and for 摩擦 writes &quot;also written 磨擦&quot;.</p>
</li>
<li><p>启程 and 起程</p>
<p>There are posts like <a href="https://zhidao.baidu.com/question/6992624.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this</a> and <a href="http://sdwyqb.com/wenda/%E2%80%9C%E8%B5%B7%E7%A8%8B%E2%80%9D%E4%B8%8E%E2%80%9C%E5%90%AF%E7%A8%8B%E2%80%9D%E7%9A%84%E5%8C%BA%E5%88%AB?" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this</a> which indicate a difference.</p>
</li>
<li><p>人才 and 人材</p>
<p>CC-CEDICT lists 人材 as &quot;variant of 人才&quot;.</p>
</li>
</ol>
<p>I say &quot;seem to be&quot; because there's no explanation given.  I'm interpreting this as implying an alternative way of writing the same word.  I'm seeking confirmation/verification of this.</p>
<p>I'm unsure how reliable all this is, and how to interpret the conflicting claims, and which words are considered &quot;default&quot; and which are &quot;variants&quot; (or if they're both common).  It would be helpful to hear from someone with experience.</p>
<p><strong>Question</strong>: Are these all pairs of alternative ways of writing words?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-30T05:35:21.847Z
Why can't a dictionary check resolve this?
dan
<difference><word><character-variant>
Are (报道, 报导), (成份, 成分), (定单, 订单), (定婚, 订婚), (浑浊, 混浊), (摩擦, 磨擦), (启程, 起程), (人才, 人材) all pairs of alternative ways of writing words?
# Are (报道, 报导), (成份, 成分), (定单, 订单), (定婚, 订婚), (浑浊, 混浊), (摩擦, 磨擦), (启程, 起程), (人才, 人材) all pairs of alternative ways of writing words?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-08-30)

In the book 汉语国际教育用词语声调组合及轻重音格式实用手册 by 刘英林 [ed.] (considered the likely candidate for the upcoming HSK3.0 vocabulary), the following words seem to be categorized as alternatives:

1. 报道 and 报导

   There are posts like [this](https://zhidao.baidu.com/question/6755076.html) and [this](https://wenku.baidu.com/view/af39aa9951e79b896802264a) which indicate a difference.
2. 成份 and 成分

   CC-CEDICT lists 成份 as "same as 成分".
3. 定单 and 订单

   CC-CEDICT lists 定单 as "variant of 订单".
4. 定婚 and 订婚

   CC-CEDICT lists 定婚 as "variant of 订婚".
5. 浑浊 and 混浊

   There are posts like [this](https://zhidao.baidu.com/question/1689413450231431428.html) which indicate a difference.
6. 摩擦 and 磨擦

   CC-CEDICT lists 磨擦 as "variant of 摩擦", and for 摩擦 writes "also written 磨擦".
7. 启程 and 起程

   There are posts like [this](https://zhidao.baidu.com/question/6992624.html) and [this](http://sdwyqb.com/wenda/%E2%80%9C%E8%B5%B7%E7%A8%8B%E2%80%9D%E4%B8%8E%E2%80%9C%E5%90%AF%E7%A8%8B%E2%80%9D%E7%9A%84%E5%8C%BA%E5%88%AB?) which indicate a difference.
8. 人才 and 人材

   CC-CEDICT lists 人材 as "variant of 人才".

I say "seem to be" because there's no explanation given. I'm interpreting this as implying an alternative way of writing the same word. I'm seeking confirmation/verification of this.

I'm unsure how reliable all this is, and how to interpret the conflicting claims, and which words are considered "default" and which are "variants" (or if they're both common). It would be helpful to hear from someone with experience.

**Question**: Are these all pairs of alternative ways of writing words?

**Tags:** difference, word, character-variant
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Why can't a dictionary check resolve this?  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2020-08-30. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

From your question, I have to say your Chinses study is already at a very advanced level. These pairs have only nuanced differences, even for Chinese tongue speakers (which I am). Well, depending on what your goal is: in daily life, I feel you can safely interchange these words with no confusion, but if you aim to be a Chinese master (e.g., work as an editor in a publishing house), you do need to figure out their tiny differences seriously.

I did not have a Chinese major in college, so let me try to address some of the easy ones based on my high school learning (indeed, some of these pairs frequently occur in the National College Entrance Examination of China):

5. 浑浊 and 混浊:
   浑浊 and 混浊 can both be used to describe air and water, etc. is not clear (which are concrete physical substances), and 浑浊 is more frequently used in this setting. 混浊 is more frequently used in a more "abstract" way to describe (political, social, etc.) environments are bad, like dirty water.
6. 摩擦 and 磨擦:
   磨擦 means you are really grinding something：磨擦大理石板.  
   摩擦 is used in a more abstract setting:   
   a. 摩擦生热 (friction can generate heat)   
   b. 工作中的摩擦 (conflicts in work)   
   There is a minimum frequency you use 磨擦; in most of the cases, it's 摩擦.
7. 启程 and 起程:
   起程 is more oral, and it is concrete to a trip because usually, you give details of the trip in your sentence (time, destination, etc.): 我们今日起程去北京.   
   启程 is more formal, and it can be used in a more abstract way: 启程走向美好未来 (set off for a better future)
8. 人才 and 人材: 人材 is more formal.

In summary, some of these pairs have small differences in that one word is more commonly used to refer to a concrete substance or scenario, and the other one is more often used in a more general and abstract setting.


---

### Answer by username_3 on 2020-08-30. Score: 1

1. 報導 is more common. 報道 is rare to use.
2. 成分 is correct, 成份 is also very widely used. 份 is a measure word, e.g. 一份報紙 兩份午餐 三份麥當勞.

3.訂單 定單, usually you can use both to express ORDER. e.g. 下訂單 means place an order. Please refer to <https://hinative.com/zh-TW/questions/11595997> to see the difference.

4. 定婚 and 訂婚, you can use 文定 to express the same meaning. e.g. 訂婚喜宴 = 文定喜宴. 訂婚 文定 are more common than 定婚. (Taiwan)
5. 渾濁 and 混濁, e.g. 這池水很混濁 這池水很渾濁, for me, as a native user, it's the same.
6. 摩擦 is more common. e.g. 摩擦生熱(Friction heat). 我和她之間有些摩擦(misunderstand or conflict)
7. 啟程 and 起程, It's ok.
8. 人才 and 人材, It's ok.


---

