“sappari” vs “sukkiri”：Perfect Guide to Clearly Use Them

“sappari” vs “sukkiri”：Perfect Guide to Clearly Use Them

I’d say one of the complicated words are さっぱり(sappari) and すっきり(sukkiri) which you feel similar, don’t you? However, they have subtle differences. I believe when you figure out these differences, your Japanese would be more natural. Let me introduce how you correctly use さっぱり and すっきり in daily conversations today!

さっぱり(sappari) / さっぱり___ない(sappari___nai)

Refresh / Completely, Absolutely

“さっぱり(sappari)” means “Refresh” and it has some meanings. The basic way to use it is “___がさっぱりしている。(___ is refreshing.)” for foods such as “このサラダはさっぱりしている。(This salad is refreshing.) “, however, “すっきり” can’t be used for foods. “このサラダはすっきりしている” is wrong. Secondly, when you use “さっぱり___ない” in negative sentences, that would mean “Not Completely/Absolutely” such as “さっぱり分わからない。(I completely/absolutely don’t understand.)”, “さっぱり出来できない。(I completely/absolutely can’t do it.)”, etc which is used as an emphasizing word. Everyone could use “さっぱり” as casual, polite and formal such as “このサラダはさっぱりしてるね。(This salad is refreshing.) ” as casual, and “このサラダはさっぱりしていますね。(This salad is refreshing.) ” as polite and formal. Lastly, “さっぱり” is used as the meaning of “Refresh” because UNNECESSARY things are removed.

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Sample

yuka

このサラダはさっぱりしてて美味おいしいね。 (This salad is refreshing and good.) (这道沙拉清爽可口。) (이 샐러드는 담백해서 맛있네.) (Món salad này vị dễ ăn, ngon ha.)（kono sarada wa sappari shitete oishī ne.）

tatsuya

昨日きのう、散髪さんぱつしたからさっぱりしたよ。 (I’ve got my haircut yesterday, so it refreshing.) (昨天去剪了头发，感觉很清爽呢。) (어제 머리 잘랐더니 상쾌하다.) (Hôm qua tớ đi cắt tóc thấy nhẹ cả người.)（kinō, sanpatsu shita karasappari shita yo.）

yuka

さっぱり分わからないんだけどー。 (I have absolutely no idea.) (我一点也搞不明白。) (도통 모르겠는데.) (Tớ chẳng hiểu gì cả.)（sappari wakaranain dakedo-.）

tatsuya

シャワーを浴あびてさっぱりしたよ。 (Since I took a shower, I feel so refreshed!) (我洗了个澡，感到神清气爽。) (샤워 했더니 상쾌하다.) (Tắm xong sảng khoái thật đấy.)（shawa- wo abitesappari shita yo.）

すっきり(sukkiri)

Refresh / Clear

“すっきり(sukkiri)” is “refresh and clear” and has been used as the meaning of something looks “ORDERLINESS”, unlike “さっぱり”. Most learners often get confused about these sentences that “頭あたまがスッキリする and 頭あたまがさっぱりする。”. Again “さっぱり” has the meaning of “UNNECESSARY things are removed.”, so “頭あたまがさっぱりする。” means “I feel refreshed (because of having someone’s haircut.)”, whereas “頭あたまがスッキリする。” means “It’s all clear./I feel refreshed.” because your thinking is organized. Furthermore, the difference between “さっぱりした部屋へや and すっきりした部屋へや” is that さっぱりした部屋へや; there are no UNNECESSARY things in the room such as a TV, sofa, desk, etc. Whereas, すっきりした部屋へや; although there are a lot of things in the room which are a TV, sofa, table, chair, bed, bookshelf, etc looks well-organized so they are ORDERLINESS. Lastly, “髪かみを切きってさっぱりしました。” is used for your appearance and “髪かみを切きってすっきりしました。” is used for your feeling refreshed. Everyone could use “すっきり” as casual, polite and formal such as “これで頭あたまがすっきりしたよ。(This helped clear my head.)” as polite and “これで頭あたまがすっきりしました。(This helped clear my head.)” as polite and formal.

Sample

yuka

仮眠かみんをとって頭あたまがすっきりしたよ。 (A short power nap helped clear my head.) (我小睡了一下，头脑清醒多了呢。) (잠깐 눈을 붙였더니 머리가 맑아졌어.) (Chợp mắt một chút xong tỉnh cả người.)（kamin wo totte atama ga sukkiri shita yo.）

tatsuya

友達ともだちに言いいたかったこと言いえたし、あーすっきりした。 (Since I told my friend what I wanted to say, I got that off my chest.) (我对朋友说了一直想说的话，啊–感觉真舒畅。) (친구한테 하고싶었던 말도 했고, 아~속 시원하다.) (Có gì muốn nói tớ nói hết với bạn rồi. Ài, thoải mái ghê.)（tomodachi ni iitakatta koto ietashi, a-sukkiri shita.）

yuka

あーなるほど！これでスッキリした！ (Ohh that makes sense and so clear now.) (啊！原来如此！这样舒畅多了呢！) (아, 그렇군! 이걸로 해결됐다!) (A thì ra là thế! Thế thì không còn khúc mắc nữa ha!)（a-naruhodo! kore desukkiri shita!）

tatsuya

ありがとう。おかげですっきりしたよ。 (Thanks, I feel relieved now.) (谢谢。多亏你，让我神清气爽。) (고마워. 덕분에 정리됐어.) (Cám ơn nha. Nhờ cậu mà tớ thấy thoải mái hơn rồi.)（arigatō. Okage desukkiri shita yo.）

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