95889
Is 大元 a mistake in this quotation, or is it acceptable?

本音【ほんね】を言【い】えないことは、多【おお】くの人【ひと】の悩【なや】みの大元【おおもと】にある

_The inability to express one's true feelings is at the root of many people's
problems._

<https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASQ5564JNQ4SPTIL009.html?iref=comtop_Topnews2_03>
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-08-18T18:50:48.277
95879
2022-08-19T09:38:09.273
31150
question
kanji compounds
Is 大元【おおもと】the right word here? Or should it be 大本【おおもと】?
本 and 元 essentially mean the same thing, as can be seen in the
[entry](https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/word/%E6%9C%AC_%28%E3%82%82%E3%81%A8%29/#jn-219563)
in デジタル大辞泉. So 大本 and 大元 should be interchangeable and 大元 is acceptable,
although most dictionaries seem to have only
[大本](https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/word/%E5%A4%A7%E6%9C%AC_%28%E3%81%8A%E3%81%8A%E3%82%82%E3%81%A8%29/#jn-29619).
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2022-08-19T01:44:13.770
95883
2022-08-19T01:44:13.770
45489
95879
answer
I see them as the same word, just written different ways. This is in contrast
to homonyms like 雲/蜘蛛 for くも. Both kanji forms 大本 and 大元 are valid. Hiragana
(おおもと) is not too unreasonable, too.

大本 is also the name of a Shinto sect started one century ago. That may be why
some people avoid writing that way when they mean the more general term.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-08-19T09:38:09.273
95889
2022-08-19T09:38:09.273
10531
95879
answer