図説|ずせつzusetsu[0]heiban (flat)

1. noun, suru verb, transitive verbillustration; diagram

• Synonym図解ずかいNeutralFocuses on making a point clear with diagrams, as in 「図解でわかる」; more common in everyday speech than 「図説」.
• Synonym図示ずしWrittenWritten style; the act of showing something by means of a diagram. 「図説」 centers on explaining with figures and often appears in book titles.
• Synonym図表ずひょうNeutralCharts and tables, often for data but also general diagrams; 「図説」 instead stresses explaining a subject by means of figures.
• Related挿絵さしえNeutralPictures inserted alongside the text of books and newspapers; stresses the picture itself, which need not explain anything.
• Related図式ずしきWrittenWritten style; reduces complex relations to a simplified diagram, and by extension a fixed pattern, as in 「対立の図式」.
• Related図版ずはんWrittenPublishing term for figures and photos printed in a book; written style, and unlike 「図説」 it names the plate, not the act of explaining.
• RelatedイラストNeutralLoanword for illustrations, hand-drawn or digital; common in ads and online, and like 「挿絵」 it does not stress explanation.
• Related絵えNeutralThe everyday word for any picture or drawing; it carries no explanatory function, unlike 「図説」.
• Related図ずNeutralAbstracted graphics such as diagrams and maps; it is the figure that 「図説」 puts to use, not the explaining itself.
• Related図面ずめんWrittenWritten style; design drawings for buildings or machines showing structure and design, whereas 「図説」 is explaining content through figures.
• Related絵図えずWrittenWritten and old-fashioned; floor plans of houses or gardens, or pictures in general.
• Related例示れいじWrittenWritten style; illustrating by giving examples, which need not involve any figures.
• Related絵解きえときNeutralExplaining while looking at a picture, or figuratively unravelling how something came about; more colloquial than 「図説」.
• Related例証れいしょうWrittenWritten style; proving a claim by citing examples — the point is proof, not pictorial explanation.
• Related図形ずけいNeutralShapes built from points, lines and planes, such as geometric figures; purely the shape, with no explanatory role.
• RelatedイラストレーションWrittenWritten-style full form of the loanword; nowadays usually shortened to 「イラスト」.
• Related挿図そうずWrittenWritten and rare; figures or photos placed within a text, much like 「挿絵」.
• Related例解れいかいWrittenWritten and rare; explanation or answers worked out through examples, often seen in book titles.
• Related例説れいせつWrittenWritten and rare, close to 「例解」; explanation by example, with no need for pictures.

「図説」 is explaining a subject by means of figures, and is mostly a book-title word, as in 「図説日本史」. In everyday use say 「図解」; for pictures in books say 「挿絵」 or 「イラスト」; for charts and tables say 「図表」; for design drawings say 「図面」. Words like 「例示」 and 「例証」 explain by example rather than by figures.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

1. 図ずなどを用もちいて説明せつめいすること。