77437
They can both translate as "to lean" but I think they're not interchangeable.
Or are they? Take this sentence for example:

> 地震で塀が傾いた。

Can I use 偏る in this sentence?
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-05-19T05:02:55.373
77431
2020-05-19T19:13:21.263
29327
question
word-choice nuances
What's the difference between 偏る and 傾く?
傾く is used to describe a slope. So, the shockwave of earthquake bent the
fence.

偏る is used to describe that something is away from the average or the fitting
line.

Therefore, only 地震で塀が傾いた。works.

* * *

Probably I will edit this later on, if it is not detailed enough.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-05-19T10:39:38.733
77433
2020-05-19T10:39:38.733
34735
77431
answer
If you describe physical inclination with those two words, it's like this:

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/rWoEE.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/rWoEE.png)

Though English "lean" covers both, 偏る tells that something becomes uneven as
if its center of gravity is drawing near to one side, while 傾く means that
something loses its uprightness in a way getting unstable.

> 船が傾いたので積んである石炭が偏った。  
>  The ship gave a lurch and the cargo of coal leaned to one side.

For your example:

> 地震で塀が傾いた。

it cannot be replaced with 偏る in the usual sense, unless, say, what you have
thought is wall is actually a sandbag-like structure and its packed content
flows to either side due to the earthquake.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-05-19T19:06:29.523
77437
2020-05-19T19:13:21.263
2020-05-19T19:13:21.263
7810
7810
77431
answer