最近 vs この頃
JLPT N4 vocabulary · what is the difference?
Both mean "recently", but 最近 can point at a single event in the near past (最近、引っ越しました — I moved recently), while この頃 describes an ongoing stretch of time up to now (この頃、よく眠れない — I have not been sleeping well lately). 最近 is also the neutral choice in writing; この頃 belongs mainly to conversation.
When to use each
最近
さいきん
Use 最近 for anything in the recent past — a single event or a continuing state. It is safe in essays, email and speech, which makes it the default when you are unsure.
最近、日本語の勉強を始めました。
さいきん、にほんごのべんきょうをはじめました。
I started studying Japanese recently.
最近の若い人はあまりテレビを見ない。
さいきんのわかいひとはあまりテレビをみない。
Young people these days do not watch much television.
この頃
このごろ
Use この頃 for how things have been over a recent period — habits, moods, weather, trends. It pairs naturally with ずっと and with ている forms, and sounds conversational.
この頃、朝晩がずいぶん涼しくなった。
このごろ、あさばんがずいぶんすずしくなった。
Mornings and evenings have grown much cooler lately.
この頃、彼をぜんぜん見かけない。
このごろ、かれをぜんぜんみかけない。
I have not seen him around at all lately.
Sentences where only one works
最近、引っ越しました。
さいきん、ひっこしました。
I moved recently.
A single completed event. この頃、引っ越しました is odd, because この頃 wants a continuing situation rather than one action.
この頃、体の調子がよくない。
このごろ、からだのちょうしがよくない。
I have not been feeling well lately.
An ongoing state, which is この頃's home ground. 最近 also works here — this is where the two genuinely overlap.
最近の調査によると、利用者は増えているそうだ。
さいきんのちょうさによると、りようしゃはふえているそうだ。
According to a recent survey, users are increasing.
最近の modifies a noun in written style. この頃の調査 is not used in this sense.
Common mistakes
この頃、新しい仕事を見つけました。
最近、新しい仕事を見つけました。
A one-time event needs 最近. この頃 frames the sentence as how things have been going, which clashes with a single past action.
この頃までこの会社で働いていました。
最近までこの会社で働いていました。
最近まで, meaning "until recently", is a set pattern; この頃まで is not used this way.
Frequently asked questions
Which one should I use in an essay or a report?
最近. この頃 is not wrong in writing, but it reads as spoken style; 最近 is the neutral choice on an exam or in a report.
What about 近頃?
近頃 (ちかごろ) means much the same as この頃 but sounds older and more literary. You will meet it in reading; you rarely need to produce it.
Is その頃 related?
Only in form. その頃 means "back then", pointing at a past time already mentioned, not at the present period.