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My boss just corrected one of my documents from 企業向きな開発 to 企業向けの開発.

Apart from the の/な problem that I always get wrong, is there a problem with 向き ?
I got it from my textbook that says 子供向きです

Could someone shed some light on when to use one or the other?
Am I fine if I decide to just stick to 向け all the time?

Nicolas Raoul
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1 Answers1

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向け is the short-form of the word 向ける and 向き's dictionary form is 向く.

向き/向く has more to do with suitability. For example, someone who is afraid of blood is not suited to be a doctor, we would say 医者に向いてない (not suitable to be a doctor)

向ける/向け has more to do with target and objective. 企業向けの開発 implies that the development is targeted at 企業(enterprise) for example.

Ken Li
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    Therefore 子供向きです would mean "suitable for kids" although not necessarily meant for kids, correct? – syockit Aug 18 '11 at 08:04
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    @syockit Yes you are correct, although I would say 子供向き is more of it's suitable for kids, but it wasn't necessarily targeted at kids in the first place, it kind of removes the "exclusiveness" of the kids should I say. – Ken Li Aug 18 '11 at 08:09
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    Good answer @Ken. Nicolas, here's an example I always use to remember them. 「犬むきの公園」- a park suitable for a dog (maybe wide, grassy, lots of trees to pee on, etc.), but still meant for humans. 「犬むけの公園」- a "dog park", i.e., a park meant for dogs; particularly to play with other dogs. A human would not go to this park by him/herself (unless they were just weird). – istrasci Aug 18 '11 at 14:24