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JLPT N2Expressions

～向け— Made For This Audience

向け attaches to a noun to indicate the intended target, audience, or market for which something is designed or produced. It stresses deliberate intention — the item was created specifically with that group in mind. Use it for products, programs, media, and services aimed at a particular demographic.

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Pro lessonUNIT 54 · EXPRESSIONS

Structure · 形

[Noun] + 向け(の/に)

Examples · 例文

  • この雑誌は若い女性向けに作られています。

    Kono zasshi wa wakai josei muke ni tsukurarete imasu.

    This magazine is made for young women.

    向けに marks 若い女性 as the deliberately targeted readership.

  • 初心者向けの教科書を探しています。

    Shoshinsha muke no kyoukasho o sagashite imasu.

    I'm looking for a textbook aimed at beginners.

    向けの modifies 教科書, showing it is intended for beginners.

  • この会社は海外向けの商品を多く輸出している。

    Kono kaisha wa kaigai muke no shouhin o ooku yushutsu shite iru.

    This company exports many products intended for overseas markets.

    海外向け shows the products are designed for the overseas market.

Usage notes · 注意

  • Register: neutral; common in business and product descriptions.
  • 向け = deliberately made FOR a target; 向き = suited to / suitable for by nature.
  • Use 向けの before a noun, 向けに before a verb.

Commonly confused with

The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones ～向け is tested against.

vs～向き

向け means something was intentionally made for a target audience, while 向き means something happens to be well-suited to someone (e.g. 子供向き = suitable for children by nature).

vs～用

用 marks the purpose/use (家庭用 = for home use), whereas 向け marks the target audience/market the item was made for.

More expressions

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