95539
According to [Goo's
thesaurus](https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/thsrs/5418/meaning/m0u/#:%7E:text=%E6%9C%AC%E4%BA%BA%EF%BC%8F%E5%BD%93%E4%BA%BA%20%E3%81%AE%E4%BD%BF%E3%81%84%E5%88%86%E3%81%91&text=%E3%80%8C%E6%9C%AC%E4%BA%BA%E3%80%8D%E3%81%AF%E3%80%81%E4%BB%96%E3%81%AE,%E3%81%A8%E3%81%84%E3%81%86%E6%84%8F%E5%91%B3%E3%81%A7%E4%BD%BF%E3%82%8F%E3%82%8C%E3%82%8B%E3%80%82)

1.「本人」は、他の人ではなく、その人自身という意味で使われる。

2.「当人」は、そこで問題になったり、話題になったりしている当事者であるその人という意味で使われる。

I don't really grasp the nuance between these two, and the example sentences
continue to confuse me:

Both are valid for Xの話を聞く, while Xが先方へ出向く is weird for 当人, and Xに間違いない only
allows for 本人, and X同士で話し合う only allows for 当人. Why is this?
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-07-24T14:55:57.810
95537
2022-07-25T09:38:11.873
38831
question
word-choice nuances
Nuances between 本人 and 当人
That description says 本人 is closer to "not someone else but that person" while
当人 is closer to "the person in question". But as a matter of fact, they are
very often interchangeable. Actually, both 本人 and 当人 make sense in all of the
four examples you gave.

Still, I see several differences:

  1. 当人 is relatively less common, and is preferred in formal or legal contexts.
  2. 当人 typically refers to someone who is involved in some concrete issue, problem, etc.
  3. Only 本人 can be used when it refers to "real/true X (as opposed to X's agent, guardian, look-alike, photograph, etc.)".

For example, 本人の話を聞く and 当人の話を聞く are roughly the same, but the latter sounds
stiffer or businesslike, and may sound like this person is involved in some
trouble. In casual contexts (e.g., choosing a birthday present for a child),
本人の話を聞く is normally preferred. But 本人 is not an informal word, so if you're in
doubt, I think you can stick to 本人 most of the time.

If you see someone on the street who looks exactly like a celebrity, and want
to ask if he is real, then you can ask (ご)本人ですか but not 当人ですか.

There is also a set phrase 当の本人, an emphatic version of 本人/当人 (" _that_ person
in question", "no one but he himself").
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-07-24T21:43:54.993
95539
2022-07-25T09:38:11.873
2022-07-25T09:38:11.873
5010
5010
95537
answer