1. One of the (only) nice things about the Windows native IME is that if you bring up the kanji selection for a word and wait a few seconds, a brief description differentiating the kanji uses for a particular word will pop up. For instance, 遭う is defined as 好ましくないことに偶然にあう. You could presumably also check a good dictionary, but I usually find these definitions sufficient.
2. There are A TON. Geez, I wouldn't even know where to start. There's the みるs, the かわるs, the こたえるs, the... I don't even know, it's actually kindof hard to remember them off hand. I've had to learn the differences between quite a lot of them though.

Last edited by QuackingShoe (2008 November 19, 1:00 am)

No no, not a 国語 dictionary. With those you'd still have to puzzle out the differences yourself. Even if you wanted to go that route (general purpose dictionary) you'd need a 漢和 dictionary like 漢字源 or 学研新漢和大辞典. 国語 dictionaries generally have pretty basic entries for the kanji. (I prefer 学研新漢和大辞典 btw)

Once this really starts bothering you, get yourself a "使い分ける" dictionary. I have this one for kanji: http://www.amazon.co.jp/漢字 … 4084001201 It has no less than seven kanji listed/differentiated for あう.

Indeed you cannot go through life with just ONE dictionary to suit all needs.

From Yahoo!知恵袋:

「逢う」は、向こうから来るものに対してこちらからも出向いて1点で出会うというようなニュアンスがあります。
「逢引き」とかなんとなく「逢う」は恋人に会うというようなイメージがありますが、「ここで逢ったが百年目～」といったような、敵に会ったときにも使います。
[...]
「逢う」はとても想いのこもった相手に対して?と思っている

This explains why you'll almost always see 逢う instead of 会う in love song lyrics.

Thanks for the 使い分け dictionary recommendation Jarvik, I was going to post asking for those. I usually find googling XXの使い分け is enough but I can't always find a good answer. I don't suppose there are any digital ones?

Last edited by shakkun (2008 November 19, 3:35 am)