質問: My question is: has anyone else ever experienced the following situation? Several times I've used Japanese words or phrases that I learned from movies in actual conversations with Japanese people, but they either correct me or look confused. When I hear a word in a movie that I don't know, I assume it is something most native speakers use, so I learn that word. For example, I learned the word 完全主義者 in a movie recently, and I tried using it in conversations with two different Japanese people. Both of them corrected me with 完璧主義者. As far as I can tell, both words essentially mean 'perfectionist'. Of course I know that the normal word is 完璧主義者 but why would they actually correct me if both words mean the same thing? Has this ever happened you? Do you think there is a difference between movie Japanese and real conversational Japanese?
回答: Let 完璧 be used when one is ideal for a situation and 完全 be used when one fulfills a requirement. I think the words can be interchangeable in the meaning. However 完全主義者 sounds referring to a really meticulous person in slightly negative way such as a person checking every procedures all the time and 完璧主義者 sounds referring to a really meticulous person in positive way such as a person trying to finish an work in detail. I think 完璧主義者(perfectionist) is more common than the other but it’s subtle.