What's the difference in using 楽 and まし. For example: 死んだほうがましだ against
死んだほうが楽だ. They both mean "It is easier to die (than to do something else)"
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2020-05-04T17:43:40.233
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2020-05-05T05:21:14.493
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question
word-choice
まし vs 楽 when used as comparison
They are semantically different words. 楽 means _easy_ (antonym for
_tough/tiresome/hard_ ) whereas まし is nuanced _better_ , or "not satisfactory
but at least better than something even worse" (See: [What's the meaning and
usage of ~マシだ](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/40221/5010)).

死んだほうが楽だ and 死んだほうがましだ does not sound that different simply because 死ぬ is a
thing that is normally both _tough_ and _bad_. But _tough_ and _bad_ is not
always the same. For example, imagine you are a traveler and decided to take a
long, steep but safe mountain road, avoiding a short but bandit-appearing
road. In this case, the mountain path is _tougher_ but _better_. So you would
say こちらの山道の方がマシだ, but not こちらの山道の方が楽だ.
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2020-05-05T05:13:45.780
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answer