What is the difference between 相棒 and 相手?


I’ve been playing Ace Attorney lately and I’m curious about the differences in
the localization compared to the original.

For this one, I’m curious about Edgeworth’s choice of words for “partner”. In
AA3, he stated a very iconic line to Phoenix, “‥‥それでは‥‥ あとは、たのんだぞ。‥‥相棒。” which
was localized as, “And with that... I leave the rest in your capable hands...
partner.”

In AAI1, Kay talks about how she hopes to find a partner (相棒) that she’s able
to trust one day, referring to the partnership between Edgeworth and Gumshoe
(prosecutor+detective, similar to her Dad and her “uncle” Badd.) Edgeworth
then replies to her with, “...However, I can say that it is truly wonderful to
find a partner (相手) you can trust.” The full scene can be watched here,
starting at 10:17. <https://youtu.be/mZlxE4m2sqI?t=617>

Exactly what is the difference between 相棒 and 相手? Edgeworth refers to Phoenix
using 相棒, but refers to Gumshoe using 相手. The fact that he uses 相手 despite Kay
using 相棒 is interesting to me.

Mostly unrelated, but in DGS, Asogi refers to Ryunosuke as partner (相棒)
multiple times in the first case.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.




In this video, 相手 in 信頼できる相手 is just "someone". The word 相手 itself has nothing
to do with friendship or trust. An 相手 can be your enemy (戦う相手) or a total
stranger (駅への道を聞く相手). Perhaps you can forget the translation of "partner" if
it confuses you. See: [What does 相手 mean in
「素直な自分をぶつけられる相手」?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/11797/5010)

相棒 refers to such a relationship like Naruhodo/Phoneix and Mayoi/Maya in _Ace
Attorney_ , Lara Croft and Jonah Maiava in _Tomb Raider_ , Wander and Agro in
_Shadow of the Colossus_ , Mario and Yoshi in _Super Mario_ and so on. An 相棒
can be a person or an animal, or occasionally an inanimate object like a
motorcycle, but not an organization. It's like friends, but it's usually not a
lets-go-to-movie-together kind of friendship. 相棒 is someone who you trust and
"get the job done" with. It's not a light word, but if you already know what
it means for a tsundere character like Edgeworth to call someone an 相棒, you
correctly understand its connotation.

In the video, note that Edgeworth does not want to admit Gumshue is his
trustworthy 相棒. At least externally, he regards Gumshue merely as his
subordinate who is _sometimes_ useful. That's why he said that the question is
not answerable (because Gumshue is not his 相棒 in the first place). Instead, he
added, "However, (generally speaking,) finding someone you can trust is a good
thing." 相棒 is a big word, and most people do not have one. Edgeworth is also
basically an independent person, so I understand saying "you should find an
相棒" may sound a bit too irresponsible.




In this video, 相手 in 信頼できる相手 is just "someone". The word 相手 itself has nothing
to do with friendship or trust. An 相手 can be your enemy (戦う相手) or a total
stranger (駅への道を聞く相手). Perhaps you can forget the translation of "partner" if
it confuses you. See: [What does 相手 mean in
「素直な自分をぶつけられる相手」?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/11797/5010)

相棒 refers to such a relationship like Naruhodo/Phoneix and Mayoi/Maya in _Ace
Attorney_ , Lara Croft and Jonah Maiava in _Tomb Raider_ , Wander and Agro in
_Shadow of the Colossus_ , Mario and Yoshi in _Super Mario_ and so on. An 相棒
can be a person or an animal, or occasionally an inanimate object like a
motorcycle, but not an organization. It's like friends, but it's usually not a
lets-go-to-movie-together kind of friendship. 相棒 is someone who you trust and
"get the job done" with. It's not a light word, but if you already know what
it means for a tsundere character like Edgeworth to call someone an 相棒, you
correctly understand its connotation.

In the video, note that Edgeworth does not want to admit Gumshue is his
trustworthy 相棒. At least externally, he regards Gumshue merely as his
subordinate who is _sometimes_ useful. That's why he said that the question is
not answerable (because Gumshue is not his 相棒 in the first place). Instead, he
added, "However, (generally speaking,) finding someone you can trust is a good
thing." 相棒 is a big word, and most people do not have one. Edgeworth is also
basically an independent person, so I understand saying "you should find an
相棒" may sound a bit too irresponsible.

