実際 and 実態: Direct Experience and Actual Conditions
Compare the real size of a building and the experience of making something with working conditions revealed by an investigation. Read direct experience separately from the scope of understanding actual circumstances.
実際 (じっさい): A real object and actual making
「写真で見るより、実際の建物はずっと大きかった。」 — “The building was much larger in reality than in the photograph.” The actual building was much larger than it appeared in the photograph. The comparison concerns the impression from a photograph and the real object.
「簡単そうだと思ったが、実際に作ると時間がかかった。」 — “It looked simple, but actually making it took time.” Something that looked simple took time when actually made. The sentence specifies neither a first attempt nor an exact duration.
実態 (じったい): Investigation and living conditions
「調査によって長時間労働の実態が明らかになった。」 — “The investigation revealed the reality of long working hours.” An investigation revealed the reality of long working hours. The subject is the actual working conditions investigated.
「外から見ただけでは村の暮らしの実態は分からない。」 — “You cannot understand the reality of village life merely by looking from outside.” Merely looking from outside does not reveal the reality of village life. External appearance and actual living conditions are distinguished.
The scope of experience and understanding
The 実際 examples report an actual object or activity; the 実態 examples focus on actual conditions and how they are understood. The size difference does not mean the building grew.
The photograph, making activity, work, and village are separate subjects. Do not turn the labor investigation into a description of every village or outside observation into complete understanding.
What do 実際の建物 compared with a photograph and the investigated labor 実態 show?
Show the answer and why
The real building’s size and the actual working conditions investigated. The comparison does not report growth of the building, and the investigation is not extended to every worker.