Is the meaning of 宝くじ contextual?


I encountered some sentences about 宝くじ, but am kind of confused. The literal
definition seems to be "lottery". In the US at least you pretty much always
buy a "lottery ticket", never heard someone say "I bought a lottery". Consider
the sentences:

> でも、まあ、宝くじなんてなかなか当るもんじゃ、ありませんですからねぇ。

and

> あれっ・・・？あの宝くじ、捨てちゃったんですか？あーあ、せっかく４等だったのに・・・

It sounds like the first one is specifically talking about the lottery system,
and how by its nature few win. The second is talking about a specific lottery
ticket being thrown away. Is the meaning of 宝くじ purely contextual?




「宝{たから}くじ」 can mean both:

1) the system and practice of lottery (intangible)

2) lottery ticket(s) (tangible)

So, 「宝くじを買{か}う」 means "to buy lottery tickes" and 「宝くじを捨{す}てる」 means "to throw
away lottery tickets". Very few people would use the term 「宝くじ券{けん}」 to say
those in informal daily conversations.

As you suspect, which meaning the word is being used for depends totally on
the context. If that created any confusion at all, we naturally would have
long been using two different terms instead.




「宝{たから}くじ」 can mean both:

1) the system and practice of lottery (intangible)

2) lottery ticket(s) (tangible)

So, 「宝くじを買{か}う」 means "to buy lottery tickes" and 「宝くじを捨{す}てる」 means "to throw
away lottery tickets". Very few people would use the term 「宝くじ券{けん}」 to say
those in informal daily conversations.

As you suspect, which meaning the word is being used for depends totally on
the context. If that created any confusion at all, we naturally would have
long been using two different terms instead.

