matter · thing

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: Read こと, 事 refers to a matter, event, or content; it can also be read じ in compounds.
• Basic usage: 昨日あった事 means what happened yesterday. In this context, 事 refers to an event or matter, not a physical object.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• A matter and a job
  • 仕事, read しごと, means work or a job.
  • Other words containing 事 include 食事, read しょくじ, for a meal and 事故, read じこ, for an accident; they do not all mean an occupation.
• Treating an action as a topic
  • In 歩く事, 事 after the verb lets the act of walking be treated as a single matter.
  • This grammatical use is usually written in hiragana, as in 歩くこと.