62059
While reading a scene about some people checking out the luxurious hot tub
that is in their building, one of the character remarks:

> ご、豪華すぎるほどじゃないが、何とも贅沢極まるというか。。。

which I understand as meaning like: It's not at the level of being too 豪華, but
it's extremely 贅沢.

Am I right in understanding that 豪華 is more extravagant that 贅沢?
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-10-07T04:33:45.023
62015
2018-10-09T18:00:49.460
2018-10-09T18:00:49.460
10045
10045
question
word-choice nuances
What's the difference between 豪華 and 贅沢?
I think 豪華 and 贅沢 can't be compared by the degree of the expensiveness.

豪華 and 贅沢 means "gorgeousness" and "luxury', but only 贅沢 often includs
negative meaning like "too extravagant", "too expensive" and "champagne taste
on a beer budget".
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2018-10-07T06:49:09.083
62016
2018-10-09T06:14:41.787
2018-10-09T06:14:41.787
7320
7320
62015
answer
豪華 in isolation is a positive word meaning _luxurious_. But if we say 豪華
**すぎる** , it of course turns into a directly negative remark (" _overly_
luxurious" or " _too_ luxurious").

On the other hand, 贅沢 is an ambivalent word that has both positive and
negative connotations. When it's negative, it's closer to _extravagant_ or
_lavish_. People often say そんな贅沢なお金の使い方をするな, 贅沢をやめろ, etc. When it's positive,
it's almost interchangeable with 豪華.

So the speaker rephrased a clearly negative remark (豪華 **すぎる** ) to an
ambiguous phrase (贅沢極まる) to make the sentence sound more euphemistic and
milder. But if we remove すぎる, 贅沢 is the word that is closer to _extravagant_.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-10-09T00:38:03.923
62059
2018-10-09T00:57:50.057
2018-10-09T00:57:50.057
5010
5010
62015
answer
I like naruto's answer so I was going to add this as a comment, but it got too
long so I am adding as answer. Consider it a really long comment with
supplementary information.

When you look at the dictionary (I used kotobank), the definition of 「贅沢」 is
to use more money than necessary or is appropriate for one's circumstance, and
the definition for 「豪華」 literally included 「贅沢」 in its definition, so there is
definitely a lot of overlap in the meaning.

However, one thing that might be useful to know is that in Japan as of now,
the word 「贅沢」 no longer necessarily means "luxurious" in the sense that it is
expensive. 「安い贅沢」 is very popular these days, here's an example.

You take a paid leave to go off on a 3 day weekend and stay a couple days at a
ryokan with outdoor hot springs at an affordable price during off-season. It's
not expensive or fancy, but sitting in the outdoor hot springs, enjoying the
view, surrounded by the scent of evergreens with birds singing their mating
calls while sipping sake is certainly not something you do everyday. This is
not 豪華, but it would be considered 贅沢.

So 「贅沢」 is now a word that can be used to describe treating oneself to
something, regardless of whether it is too expensive or not. It's more about
something nice that's out of the ordinary. On the other hand, 「豪華」 is still a
word you use to describe something fancy and expensive. Basically, there is a
nuance difference.

Not really related, but with 「贅沢」 you can use it as a verb (贅沢をする) as well as
a ～な adjective (贅沢な), while 「豪華」 can be used as a ～な adjective (豪華な) but not
as a verb.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-10-09T01:44:17.267
62061
2018-10-09T01:44:17.267
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62015
answer