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As in the title: Are グラス and ガラス alternative spellings of the same word?

I'm going through a 2級 prep book for vocabulary and it has

ワイングラス = wine glass

but

ガラスのコップ = glass (for drinking)

and

窓のガラス = window glass

Are グラス and ガラス the same or do I have to be careful when to use which?

Rudy the Reindeer
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  • AFAIK, ガラス is for the _material_ "glass", while グラス is for the thing that holds a liquid you're about to drink. – Xeo Nov 15 '14 at 09:44
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    I'll just add that the origins are different as well, グラス being from the English, while ガラス is from Dutch 'Glas'. – Robin Nov 15 '14 at 11:57
  • @Ash Interesting. And funny how the same word became two different words : ) – Rudy the Reindeer Nov 15 '14 at 12:44

1 Answers1

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While people will likely understand you if you mix them up, it's better to use proper one:

ガラス = glass (material)

  • 吹きガラス (glass blowing)
  • ガラスの皿 (glass plate)

グラス = a glass (for drinking)

  • タンブラーグラス (tumbler glass)
  • ワイングラス (wine glass), グラスワイン ([drink] a glass of wine)
  • カクテルグラス (cocktail glass)
  • ミキシンググラス (mixing glass)

~グラス = some other things made from glass, or have "glass" in the English name:

  • サングラス (sunglasses), オペラグラス (opera glasses)
  • ステンドグラス (stained glass)
  • アワーグラス (hourglass)
Igor Skochinsky
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  • Are these pronounced (in 標準語【ひょうじゅんご】) as ガラス【HHL】, グラス【LHL】, and グラス【HLL】, respectively? – rintaun Nov 16 '14 at 00:54
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    Basically ガラス（０）、グラス（０or１）i.e. ガラス and グラス or グ↓ラス. When they are component of a word compound in the form of ＿＿グラス, they have downstep before the last two moras i.e. 吹きガ↓ラス(3)、ワイング↓ラス(4). As for グラスワイン, it's グラスワ↓イン(4). – user4092 Nov 16 '14 at 06:29