A question about the vocab 「示す」

Japanese
#1

Looking at the example sentences in Bunpro for this vocab, there are a couple meanings for 示す:

  • to show something in order to make it visible, which overlaps 見せる
  • to show a feeling, which overlaps 表す
  • other meanings which seem peculiar to 示す, like showing on a map, or the clock / scale that shows the time / weight

For instance:
駅員さんに定期券を示す。
What’s the difference with
駅員さんに定期券を見せる。

According to the definition, 示す is “take out and show” so 出して見せる. Or is it something reserved to showing documents?

On the other hand, a lot of examples overlap with 表す, like
飼い犬は嬉しい気持ちを尻尾の動作で示した。
Is there any difference here with
飼い犬は嬉しい気持ちを尻尾の動作で表した。

Thanks to anyone in advance

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#2

The difference is the nuance and how to use it.

見せる = showing something physically, e.g. showing a child a toy, showing your friend a photo = make something visible. (more neutral, for the day-to-day use)
示す= showing something in an abstract way, e.g. present your results in a meeting, showing the way on a map = demonstrate/point to something (more formal, for elevated use but not 敬語)

Hope that helps a bit. Wish you a wonderful Sunday!

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#3

Thanks for your response.
What about the difference in nuance with 表す? Like in the dog example

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#4

表す = showing abstract things, e.g. explaining your emotions, showing gratitude = make concepts “visible”. This word is neither a day-to-day nor formal use, just a way to describe abstract concepts.

So regarding your example sentence with the dog:
The first one focuses on the explanation of what the tail wiggle means = showing someone the meaning in a neutral way, as you might find it in a behavior analysis explanation.
The second sentence focuses on the symbolic part of the tail wiggle = showing that the dog expresses its happiness in a symbolic/emotional way, as you might find it in novels as figurative descriptions.

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