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How to Say ‘True; real’ in Japanese

本当

hontou

[hon-toh]

💬 Usage Tip: [本当] often means "real" or "true," but with [は] it often works like "actually" or "really," as in [本当は]. You can reuse that pattern in questions: [本当はどう思う?] = "What do you really think?"

Phrase Breakdown

本当

hontou

[hon-toh]

truth; real; true

Used for something true or real. It can mean truth as a noun or true/really in context.

Example

それは本当の話です。

That is a true story.

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