Translation guide
The act of combining substances, people, or ideas. In Japanese, different words are used depending on what is being mixed and how.
To physically stir or blend things together to form a uniform mixture.
General verb for mixing ingredients, liquids, etc. Transitive.
小麦粉と卵を混ぜる。
Mix flour and eggs.
絵の具を混ぜて新しい色を作る。
Mix paints to create a new color.
Intransitive; things mix or get mixed. Often used when substances combine naturally or without specifying an agent.
油と水は混ざらない。
Oil and water don't mix.
To stir or agitate while mixing, often with a utensil.
スープをかき混ぜる。
Stir the soup.
To bring different types of people together, or for people to mingle.
To interact, exchange, or mingle, especially between groups or cultures. Formal.
留学生と交流する機会があった。
I had a chance to mingle with international students.
Can be used for people mixing in a group, but may sound like they are physically blending. Use with care.
May imply a lack of order or distinction; 交流する is safer for social interaction.
パーティーでいろんな人が混ざっていた。
Various people were mixing at the party.
To associate or mix with people, often in a deeper or more intimate sense. Can be literary.
To combine sound sources or adjust audio levels.
To mistake one thing for another or fail to distinguish.
To confuse or mix up two things in one's mind. Formal.
似た言葉を混同しやすい。
It's easy to mix up similar words.
To become jumbled or mixed up in a messy way. Casual.
書類がごちゃごちゃになってしまった。
The documents got all mixed up.
混ぜる (transitive) is used when someone actively mixes things. 混ざる (intransitive) describes things mixing on their own or being mixed without focusing on the agent.
彼が絵の具を混ぜた。
He mixed the paints.
絵の具が混ざった。
The paints got mixed.
While 混ざる can sometimes describe people mingling, 混ぜる is rarely used for people because it implies physically stirring them. Use 交流する or other social verbs instead.
彼はあまり人と交わらない。
He doesn't mix much with people.