| Quick Links Welcome to Kanji Curiosity | The Basics | Glossary |
My cousin Lois has a useful motto: Start with the truth. No matter how difficult a situation is, you won’t get anywhere by lying to yourself about the facts.
My husband has also taught me something about the truth: Whenever someone says “Frankly, …” you should be on guard. The person might as well have said, “What I’m about to say will be tactless and cruel.”
In Japanese, starting with the truth means starting with 実, the kanji we investigated last week. This character works its way into all manner of expressions related to truth and reality, including this sampling:
実は (jitsu wa: in fact, as a matter of fact, by the way)
Merely combining the kanji with the subject marker は yields a useful phrase.
実のところ (jitsu no tokoro: as a matter of fact; to tell the truth)
I like to think that since tokoro means “place” (or an abstract state), this expression puts you in the place where truth lies. You can use 実のところ exactly the same way as 実は.
Sample Sentences with
実は and 実のところ …
実際 (jissai: truth, reality, actual, real, practical)
reality + occasion, time
事実 (jijitsu: fact, truth, reality) fact + reality
真実 (shinjitsu: truth) truth + reality
Mixing in Verbs
When we mix reality or truth with some verbs, things become more interesting.
事実に照らして (jijitsu ni terashite: in view of the facts)
facts (1st 2 chars.) + to illuminate, shine on, shed lightLight shines on the facts, bringing them into full view!
真実と向き合う (shinjitsu to mukiau: to face the truth)
truth (1st 2 chars.) + facing + suffix meaning “to act
reciprocally”The word 向き合う means “to be opposite” or “to face each other.” As the kanji would have it, a person is literally across from the truth, facing it.
真実を語る (shinjitsu o kataru: to speak the truth)
truth (1st 2 chars.) + to talkIf you’re accustomed to seeing 語 with the on-yomi of GO (as in 日本語, Nihongo: Japanese), the kun-yomi of kataru may seem strange. But you may already know this yomi from 物語り (monogatari: story, thing + to talk).
Which Direction to the Truth, Please?
Where does the truth lie? If you ask this in Japanese, you might end up with surprising results, as you’ll see in the Verbal Logic Quiz.
