Different comes before wrong
The core of chigau, written 違う, is that two things do not match. A wrong answer is simply one that does not match the right answer, which is how the same verb covers both ideas.
Keeping the word anchored to mismatch helps with every other use. Sizes, opinions, colours and places can all be chigau without anyone being at fault.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 意見が違います。 | Iken ga chigaimasu. | Our opinions differ. |
| サイズが違います。 | Saizu ga chigaimasu. | The size is wrong. |
| 前と違いますね。 | Mae to chigaimasu ne. | It's different from before, isn't it? |
| 違う色はありますか。 | Chigau iro wa arimasu ka. | Do you have a different colour? |
| 人によって違います。 | Hito ni yotte chigaimasu. | It depends on the person. |
Chigaimasu as a polite no
When someone checks a fact with you, chigaimasu is the natural no. It means that is not it, rather than you are wrong, so it is fine with strangers and staff.
Pair it with ie and, when it helps, the correct information. A bare chigaimasu is correct but can feel like a closed door.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 田中さんですか。 | Tanaka-san desu ka. | Are you Mr Tanaka? |
| いえ、違います。 | Ie, chigaimasu. | No, I'm not. |
| これはあなたの傘ですか。 | Kore wa anata no kasa desu ka. | Is this your umbrella? |
| いいえ、違います。私のは青です。 | Iie, chigaimasu. Watashi no wa ao desu. | No, it isn't. Mine is blue. |
| 違います。三時です。 | Chigaimasu. Sanji desu. | No, it's three o'clock. |
Chigau versus machigau
Learners often reach for chigau when they mean I made a mistake. That job belongs to machigau, to be mistaken, and machigaeru, to get something wrong. The noun is machigai, a mistake.
The easy test is whether a person did something. If yes, use machigaeru. If you are describing how things are, use chigau.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 答えが違います。 | Kotae ga chigaimasu. | The answer is wrong. |
| 答えを間違えました。 | Kotae o machigaemashita. | I got the answer wrong. |
| 道を間違えました。 | Michi o machigaemashita. | I took the wrong way. |
| 間違い電話です。 | Machigai denwa desu. | It's a wrong number. |
| Word | Meaning | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Chigau | To differ, to be wrong | Describing a mismatch |
| Machigau | To be mistaken | Something is in error |
| Machigaeru | To get something wrong | A person made a mistake |
| Machigai | A mistake | The noun |
Softening a correction
Correcting a superior or a client with a bare chigaimasu can land hard. The agreeing and disagreeing guide covers the full softening pattern; the short version is to add chotto or sukoshi and a hedge.
Adding a phrase about your own understanding moves the disagreement from their mistake to a difference in information, which is much easier to hear.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ちょっと違うと思います。 | Chotto chigau to omoimasu. | I think it's a little different. |
| 少し違うかもしれません。 | Sukoshi chigau kamoshiremasen. | It might be slightly different. |
| 私の理解とは少し違うのですが。 | Watashi no rikai to wa sukoshi chigau no desu ga. | That's a little different from my understanding. |
Casual forms you will hear
Among friends, chigau often doubles into chigau chigau, no no, not that. Rougher speech stretches it into chigē yo, which is male-coded and blunt.
You will also hear chigakunai?, which bends the verb into an adjective shape. It is widespread in young people's speech but not standard, so it is one to recognise rather than copy.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 違う違う。 | Chigau chigau. | No, no, not that. (casual) |
| ちげーよ。 | Chigē yo. | That's not it! (rough, male-coded) |
| それ、違くない？ | Sore, chigakunai? | Isn't that wrong? (colloquial, nonstandard) |
| そっちじゃなくて、こっち。 | Socchi ja nakute, kocchi. | Not that one, this one. (casual) |
Chigau for comparison
The te form, chigatte, is a handy connector for contrasts. It lets you say something is unlike something else and then describe it in the same breath.
Chigau also turns up in phrases about variety, where it simply means differing from case to case.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 東京と違って、静かです。 | Tōkyō to chigatte, shizuka desu. | Unlike Tokyo, it's quiet. |
| 写真と全然違いますね。 | Shashin to zenzen chigaimasu ne. | It's completely different from the photo. |
| 国によって習慣が違います。 | Kuni ni yotte shūkan ga chigaimasu. | Customs differ from country to country. |
Mistakes to fix early
Most chigau mistakes come from mapping it onto English wrong or mistake. Practising corrections in real exchanges, where someone reacts to your tone, is the quickest way to sort them out.
- Saying watashi wa chigaimashita for I made a mistake: use machigaemashita.
- A bare chigaimasu to a superior's opinion: soften it.
- Using chigau for a person being wrong in general: describe the mismatch instead.
- Copying chigakunai in polite speech.