Both「目的」and「目標」have a common meaning which is "goal", but what is the
difference?  
When can we use one but not the other?
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2012-12-18T17:50:08.137
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word-choice
What are the differences between「目的」and 「目標」?
`目的` can also mean "purpose". There is a book called "The Purpose Driven
Life". In Japanese, it's titled `人生を導く５つの目的`.

I think it boils down to the difference in English between "purpose" and
"goal". A goal is something finite you hope to achieve. A purpose is like a
motivation for why you do something. Often they will overlap, but not always.
Having a finite goal kind of implies that you have a motivation. However, the
converse—having a motivation implies you have a finite goal—is not necessarily
true.

Ex.

> A: Why did you come to campus today?  
>  B1: I came to visit my professor and get a letter of recommendation. → The
> goal and the motivation are the same: get the letter.  
>  B2: I came to visit my professor. → The motivation of why I came to campus
> is to see my professor. However, there is nothing "achievable" just by
> visiting him.

So the same with the Japanese words. If you have a `目標` you also (likely) have
a `目的`. However, if you have a `目的`, you do not necessarily have a `目標`.

That's how I see them anyway.
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目的＝目標＋意味

Example:  
I want to become better at shooting the basketball. => 目的  
I will consider myself better at it when I score at least 50% of my shots. =>
目標

目的 is a high level image, global image of a goal. 目標 is a more milestones like
low level goal towards achieving the 目的 which can be quantified and is
explicit.
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