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I came across this question, and found the same meaning in the dictionary for
both options

> (a-危ない) or (b-危うい) ですから 下がってください

however the answer booklet says it is (a-危ない), what is the difference?
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2014-07-27T12:33:50.070
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word-choice synonyms i-adjectives
What is the difference between 危ない and 危うい?
危ない is "dangerous" while 危うい is "vulnerable" or "not reliable".
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2014-07-27T12:38:39.297
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They have the same meaning of "dangerous", but 危うい is used more in the written
language (文語), whereas 危ない is used more in the spoken language (口語).

Here's a [Chiebukuro
question](http://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q1088317925)
asking about this.

大辞林 has a [note in the entry for
危ない](http://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%8D%B1%E3%81%AA%E3%81%84?dic=daijirin)

>
> 〔中世以降，「あやうい」に代わって用いられるようになった。現代では「あやうい」は文章語的に用いられ，死や滅亡など最悪の事態が差し迫っている意に用いる。それに対して「あぶない」は生命・身体などを損ないかねないような，好ましくない事態が起こりそうであることをいう〕

(Warning: possibly inaccurate translation ahead). Basically it says that 危ない
has replaced 危うい in modern times. Nowadays, the usage of 危うい is literary-like,
and expresses the urgency/imminence of a worst case scenario like death or
decimation. In contrast with that, 危ない expresses that something bad is going
to happen, regardless of whether it involves bodily harm (threat to life) or
not.

Additionally, in [語源's entry on 危ない](http://gogen-allguide.com/a/abunai.html),
it mentions that

> 元々は、類義語である「危うい」が文語的表現で、「危ない」は口語的であった。

The 元々 seems to suggest that it is not the case now though, hmm...
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2014-07-27T13:52:19.753
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2014-07-28T05:21:03.090
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In theory, both are correct because the meaning is the same. **危うい** and
**危ない** have the same meaning of **"Dangerous"**.

But you should have to know the context in the case of **「危ないですから、下がってください」**.
This is a typical audio message that is heard in the station when the train
arrives. So, in that case only **危ない** is the correct word, because **危うい** is
only used in the written language.

And yes, as always the Nihongo Sou Matome book (the source of that question)
doesn't explain anything about this.
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2017-02-19T18:29:47.023
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