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Question 310 - Difference between .artist・ and .asrtiste・
Dear Graham,
I want to ask what the difference between .artist・ and .artiste・ is.

Thanks.

Regards
Josephine
Dear Josephine

These words have very similar meanings. There are some differences though.

Artist
There are three main meanings.

(i) someone who paints pictures and other art forms
e.g. Monet is my favourite artist.

(ii) someone who acts, performs music or dance professionally
e.g. Norah Jones is my favourite jazz artist at the moment.

(iii) someone who is good at an activity
e.g. A con artist is good at cheating people.

Artiste
An artiste is a professional singer or dancer.
e.g. Michael Jackson was a great artiste since he could sing and dance.

Nowadays, .artist・ is more commonly used than .artist・ to talk about actors, singers or dancers.

I would love to become a professional artist or artiste but I・m a terrible singer. So I・ll keep answering your questions instead.

Best wishes
Graham
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