混ざる vs 混ぜる
JLPT N2 vocabulary · what is the difference?
混ぜる is stirring things together yourself, with を: 卵を混ぜる. 混ざる is things ending up mixed, with が: 色が混ざる. If there is a spoon or a cook involved, it is 混ぜる.
When to use each
混ざる
まざる
The things that blend are the subject with が. Use it for colours running together, a smell in the air, or something unwanted finding its way in. Frequently ～ている for the resulting state.
青と黄色が混ざると緑になる。
あおときいろがまざるとみどりになる。
Blue and yellow make green when they mix.
この米には古い米が混ざっている。
このこめにはふるいこめがまざっている。
There's old rice mixed in with this rice.
混ぜる
まぜる
You do the mixing and the ingredients take を. This is the verb of recipes and instructions: よく混ぜる, かき混ぜる. Use ～に混ぜる for what you mix something into.
卵と砂糖をよく混ぜてください。
たまごとさとうをよくまぜてください。
Please mix the eggs and sugar well.
牛乳を少しずつ混ぜながら温めます。
ぎゅうにゅうをすこしずつまぜながらあたためます。
Heat it while stirring in the milk a little at a time.
Sentences where only one works
よく混ぜてから飲んでください。
よくまぜてからのんでください。
Please stir it well before drinking.
An instruction to the listener, so the transitive 混ぜる.
絵の具が混ざって、汚い色になった。
えのぐがまざって、きたないいろになった。
The paints ran together and turned an ugly colour.
Nobody meant it to happen; the paints did it, so 混ざる with が.
水に薬を混ぜます。
みずにくすりをまぜます。
I mix the medicine into the water.
Two things marked differently — を for what you add, に for what it goes into. Only 混ぜる takes this pattern.
ごみに紙が混ざっていました。
ごみにかみがまざっていました。
There was paper mixed in with the rubbish.
Something got in by accident, and 混ざっている reports the state you discovered.
Common mistakes
砂糖を混ざってください。
砂糖を混ぜてください。
混ざる cannot take を, and a request to the listener always needs the transitive 混ぜる.
色を混ざりました。
色を混ぜました。／色が混ざりました。
Choose by particle: を with 混ぜました if you did it, が with 混ざりました if the colours ran together on their own.
Frequently asked questions
What about 交ざる — is it the same word?
Same reading, different nuance. 混 is used when things blend into one whole, like liquids or colours; 交 is used when the parts stay distinguishable, such as one foreign word among Japanese ones. For cooking, 混 is the safe choice.
Is 混じる different from 混ざる?
They overlap heavily and are often interchangeable. 混じる leans slightly toward a small amount present in a larger whole, while 混ざる is the more general everyday choice, and using 混ざる is rarely wrong.
Which one do I use for joining a group of people?
混ざる: 私も混ざっていい？ means 'can I join in too?'. 混ぜて also works as a casual 'let me in', where you are asking someone to include you.