解約 and 解除: Ending a contract and releasing a lock
Compare ending an unused service contract with unlocking a door or deactivating an alarm. Identify the contract or state affected and the timing of the stated actions.
Ending a service contract
解約 means contract cancellation or termination. 「使わなくなったサービスを月末で解約した。」 says the speaker canceled an unused service at the end of the month. The target is the service contract.
「契約をやめる前に解約の手続きを確認した。」 says the speaker checked the cancellation procedure before ending the contract. Checking a procedure does not itself report that this contract was terminated.
Releasing an existing state
解除 means release or deactivation. 「暗証番号を入力して扉のロックを解除した。」 describes entering a password to unlock a door. The affected state is the lock, rather than a service contract.
「警報の解除を確認してから作業を再開した。」 describes resuming work after confirming that an alarm had been deactivated. The sentence states the order of the confirmation and the resumed work.
Find the object of the action
The month-end 解約 ends a service contract, while the door-lock 解除 releases a lock. Identifying each action’s object makes the distinction concrete.
These lock and alarm examples do not establish the effects of every contract cancellation or a universal operating procedure. Each sentence gives its own target and sequence.
What is ended by the month-end 解約, and what is released by the door-lock 解除?
Show the answer and why
The 解約 ends the service contract, while the 解除 releases the lock on the door. Distinguish a contract relationship from an existing locked state.