Structure
Noun + 化(する)
Noun + 化 + する(1) + Noun
(1) した、の
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Standard
使用域
一般
About 化する
化 by itself is a suffix in Japanese which means 'to change', or 'to transform'. When paired with する, it means 'to transform into (A)', where (A) is the noun that 化 is connected to. This structure is regularly translated as '~ification', or '~ization', and similar suffixes in English.
- あと数年で運転は自動化する。In a few years driving will become automated.
- 私は仕事で書類をデータ化する。At work, I digitize documents.
- 劣化した家を立て直す仕事をしたい。I want a job rebuilding deteriorated homes.
- 日本は紙社会なので仕事をオンライン化するのは厳しい。Since Japan is a paper society, digitalization of work is difficult.
- 日本では高齢化が進んでいる。In Japan, the population is aging progressively.
Examples
それは単純化した英語のように見える。
It appears to be simplified English.
20世紀には経済成長の原因の一つは自動化だと考えられている。
It is considered that automation is one of the sources of economic growth in the 20th century.
Notice that Noun+化 doesn't have to be followed by する, and can be simply treated as a noun.
お父さん、アプリはこうやって最小化するの。
Dad, you minimize apps like this.
その新たなタイプの電池が商品化する計画があると言われている。
It is said that there are already plans to commercialize that new type of battery.
プラスチックを液化する方法はエネルギ産業を一変させるかもしれない。
The plastic liquefaction method might revolutionize the energy industry.
液化法 can be translated as liquefaction.
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Breakdown of the uses of 化
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[AIAIJ] An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese
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化する – Grammar Discussion
Most Recent Replies (7 in total)
kariforuniajin
I just wanted to comment that this grammar point has got to be one of the hardest ones to really understand (as an English native speaker).
I know it’s bad practice to try to translate things word-for-word, but I can’t wrap my head around this grammar point.
nekoyama
Isn’t it pretty similar to how it works in English though. E.g. we can take the noun “simple” and the suffix “-ify” (originally from a Latin word for “make”) and make a new verb “simplify” that means “make simple” or “change something so it becomes simple”. And we can also take this verb and the suffix “-ation” (for a “process”) to make a corresponding noun “simplification” that means “the process of making something simple”.
In the same way we can take the noun 簡単 (simple) and make a new verb 簡単化 する (simplify), and the matching noun 簡単化 (simplification).
I guess a word-for-word translation is difficult because English has a bunch of ways to do this, and they’re not exchangeable, and generally rooted in Latin or Old French and no longer recognisable as individual words, and sometimes the same suffix can have multiple roots, and sometimes people don’t agree whether two words are the same, or different meanings, or one is just misspelled (like liquefaction vs. liquificat...
kariforuniajin
E.g. we can take the noun “simple” and the suffix “-ify” (originally from a Latin word for “make”) and make a new verb “simplify” that means “make simple” or “change something so it becomes simple”.
Oooh, I like this explanation! Cheers!
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