Hajiku 弾くversus Hiku 弾く


For my Japanese class we recently went over how to say stuff about playing
instruments, but looking online had me confused about how to use a certain
couple of verbs. I know that my textbook says ヴァイオリンをひく（弾く）, but online I've
also encountered this other reading of the same kanji and I'm not sure the
difference between ヴァイオリンをはじく（弾く）. Can anybody explain the difference please?




For this analysis, let's ignore the kanji.

The verbs we're dealing with are _hiku_ and _hajiku_.

  * _hiku_  
Underlying meaning of "to pull, to draw".  
In the context of stringed instruments, this verb refers to the act of pulling
or drawing a bow across the strings to produce a sound. By extension, this
also came to refer to the act of producing sound from the strings of a piano
or other keyboard instrument.

  * _hajiku_  
Underlying meaning of "to cause something to bend and pop back into place with
force: to flick, to pluck, to let loose (as a bowstring)".  
In the context of stringed instruments, this refers to the act of plucking the
strings to produce sound.

Given the meanings of the verbs, one can both _hiku_ a violin, and _hajiku_ a
violin. (Though probably not at the same time. :) )

