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What is the difference between the two words `こぼれる` and `あふれる`?

I think for `こぼれる`, the focus is on **improper or bad containment** leading to
overflow/spillage.  
And for `あふれる` the focus is on the **abundance** of the object being
contained, therefore leading to overflow/spillage.

As an aside, how frequently is the kanji `溢` used for `あふれる` and `こぼれる`?  
I ask this because Google IME suggests `溢れる` for both `あふれる` and `こぼれる`.  
Is `あふれる` usually in kana and `こぼれる` usually `零れる`?
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2012-07-31T16:03:27.827
6350
2012-07-31T19:22:24.183
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question
word-choice
Difference between こぼれる and あふれる
Yes, your analysis is correct. As a Christian, `溢れる` is used often in church,
the Bible, etc. to describe such as God's overflowing love (`神様の溢れ出る愛`),
overflowing joy, etc. And I usually see it written using the kanji `溢`.

I have never seen `こぼれる` written with `溢`. The kanji `零` (れい) also means
"zero", so it's not hard to see that spilling something might result in an
amount of zero leftover. So this has a more negative connotation than `溢れる`.
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2012-07-31T16:23:58.300
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2012-07-31T16:23:58.300
78
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answer
* こぼれる is the general term for "spill". It can be due to leakage, overflow, tilt, etc.
  * 溢れる specifically means "spill due to overflow", or "full of" without particular mention to spill.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-07-31T19:22:24.183
6354
2012-07-31T19:22:24.183
6350
answer