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In the Kanzen Master N2 listening textbook, there's a table of phrases to be aware of, and it includes both 申{もう}し出{で} and 提案{ていあん} in the "function" part of the table:

  • 提案:

    • 〜たらどう？

      こっちの色にしたらどう？ ("How about going with this colour?")

    • 〜たほうがいい

      もっと大きくしたほうがいいよ。 ("It'd be best to go with a larger (sized one).")

  • 申し出:

    • 〜ましょう（か）

      荷物、持ちましょうか？ ("Shall I/we take your luggage?")

But what is the difference between 提案 and 申し出? Both seem to me to mean "proposal", and the Genius J-E dictionary definition for 申し出 includes 提案 in it:


  • proposal: …【…する／…という】提案【to do／that節】…
  • offer: …【…しようという】提案【to do】…
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up vote 3 down vote accepted

After asking this question I think I've found a lot of the answer:

  • Daijisen+Dajirin list 提案 as applying to legislative bills, opinions and thoughts etc, so I think it's broader than 申し出. It's also listed as "suggestion" by the Yahoo J-E dictionary/Space ALC etc.
  • The Yahoo J-E dictionary lists 申し出 as "a proposal ((of cooperation))"/"offer", so I think it's used when proposing to cooperate (with other people etc).
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If somebody else has a better insight then I should be interested too but is it not as simple as the difference between an offer and a proposal? An analysis of the kanji making up each word seems and the examples from 完全マスター seem to support this　ー　I don't remember any additional insight from 完全マスター N1 either. –  Tim Sep 16 '12 at 10:00
@Tim possibly - I think it may well just be that "proposal" is broad and can frequently be used in place of "offer". I think 提案 in those examples may also be closer to "suggestion"/"recommendation" –  cypher Sep 16 '12 at 10:23
I don't want to distract from the context of your book but I see 提案／proposal as an idea put forward ("supplied/提供"）formally after some thought (案じること）. Like most 2-kanji/音読み compound verb it seems suited to formal/written situations. 申し出 on the other hand, as its kanji suggests seems to include more spontaneous verbal actions, and as an offer, it is likely to be made in humble terms (ie 申し出ること). This seems to be consistent with the example in my dictionary: 「援助の＿＿がある」 –  Tim Sep 16 '12 at 10:57
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