kind of = sort of

Today I was reminded once again that most textbooks don't teach sort of. This has the same meaning as kind of. I feel it is more casual and maybe using it makes you sound a bit young. Plus, I feel it is probably a dialectical difference.

I mean depending on where the speaker is from they will be more likely to use kind of or more likely to use sort of. This is kind of like the difference between 超　（ちょう）　and　めちゃ. People in Osaka tend to use mecha and people in Tokyo tend to use cho but they mean the exact same thing!

That's why I think it is important to know both expressions as you will often hear them in different TV shows or movies. Anyways, here's a lesson I wrote a few years ago explaining sort of and kind of!

I just did some quick research and apparently kind of is preferred in American English and sort of is preferred in British English. Being from Canada I guess that is why it seems natural to me to use both!

The study focuses on modern British English and also states that kind of seems to be preferred in written English and sort of in spoken English. Maybe that's why most textbooks seem to focus on kind of... I think it is a really interesting study with lots of tips about usage of these two expressions in British English. You can find it HERE.

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Kind of, Sort of posted October 27th, 2010

Hey everyone, today I am just writing a quick lesson while taking a break from studying Japanese. In all the textbooks I've taught, they always teach:

KIND OF

which is a very useful expression. It has two main meanings:

- a type of thing

- a little bit, somewhat

That store sells many types of furniture.

means

That stores sells many kinds of furniture.

When you use type of it sounds a bit more formal/educated/business like and kind of sounds more casual/friendly. Also, the pronunciation of kind of changes pretty easily:

kind of ------> kindov ---->kinda

When you want to specify more than one kind of use kinds of. Which is pronunced:

kinds of -----> kinzov ----> kinza

Kinda and kinza are pronunced with a bit of a rising intonation on the a.

The second meaning of kind of is somewhat or a little bit, it is similar to め in Japanese:

柔らかい　－－－－＞　柔らかめ

Yawarakai (soft) becomes Yawarakame(kind of soft).

Now, most textbooks don't teach the even more casual form which has the exact SAME MEANING as kind of which is SORT OF.

The pronunciation of sort of is:

sort of -----> sordov -----> sorda

Again with a rising intonation on the a.

I'm somewhat hungry.

I'm a bit hungry.

I'm kind of hungry.

I'm sort of hungry.

So somewhat is the MOST formal and sort of is the LEAST formal. Remember, by saying sorda or kinda you will make it even more casual~! But all of these sentences have the same general meaning. ^_^

Have a good day,

Phil