What's the difference between 作る、造る、創る？


According to
[jisho.org](http://jisho.org/words?jap=tsukuru&eng=&dict=edict&common=on) they
have the same meaning. How to know which to use?




This is one of the many cases where ancient Chinese had finer distinctions for
a single concept in ancient Japanese, which lead to the same pronunciation and
varied ways of writing in Japanese. As usual, there is a general one, in this
case `作る` 'make'. Then, there are the specific ones: `造る` 'craft', and `創る`
'create'. Usually, the specific ones can be replaced by the general one, but
not vice versa.




This is one of the many cases where ancient Chinese had finer distinctions for
a single concept in ancient Japanese, which lead to the same pronunciation and
varied ways of writing in Japanese. As usual, there is a general one, in this
case `作る` 'make'. Then, there are the specific ones: `造る` 'craft', and `創る`
'create'. Usually, the specific ones can be replaced by the general one, but
not vice versa.

