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How to Say ‘Honestly, I thought it might be plum wine.’ in Japanese

正直、梅酒かなって思ってました。

shoujiki umeshu ka na tte omotsu te mashi ta

[show-jee-kee OO-meh-shoo kah nah tte oh-MOHT te mah-shee tah]

💬 Usage Tip: って is the casual spoken version of と, the word that marks what you thought or said. 思ってました means "I was thinking", which makes the guess sound like an earlier impression.

Phrase Breakdown

正直、

shoujiki

honestly,

Used at the start to mean 'to be honest'. Pronounce it shō-ji-ki, with a long 'o' in shō.

Example

正直、ちょっと疲れました。

Honestly, I'm a little tired.

Words in this phrase

正直

shoujiki

[show-jee-kee]

honest; frank; straightforward

Describes speaking truthfully, sometimes bluntly. Great for relationship talks: 正直に言うと…, 正直な気持ち.

Example

正直に言うと、まだ少し不安。

To be honest, I’m still a little anxious.

梅酒かなって

umeshu ka na tte

that it might be plum wine

って is a casual quotation marker, like と. It links the guess 梅酒かな to the verb that follows.

Example

雨かなって思った。

I thought it might rain.

Words in this phrase

梅酒

umeshu

[OO-meh-shoo]

plum wine

Sweet Japanese liqueur made from ume plums.

Example

梅酒をロックでください。

Plum wine on the rocks, please.

か

[kah]

question marker

Placed at the end of a sentence to make it a question.

Example

A席はありますか。

Are there A seats available?

な

[nah]

I wonder (with か)

Sentence-ending particle; かな means 'I wonder if'.

Example

明日晴れるかな。

I wonder if it'll be sunny tomorrow.

って

tte

[tte]

quoting particle

Indicates reported or indirect speech.

Example

彼が嫌だって

He said he hates it.

思ってました。

omotsu te mashi ta

I was thinking

This is a polite, casual form of 思っていました, with the い dropped. Say it o-mot-te-ma-shi-ta, with a small pause at the double t.

Example

ずっとそう思ってました。

I'd been thinking that all along.

Words in this phrase

思っ

omotsu

[oh-MOHT]

to think

Stem of 思う, to think or suppose.

Example

いい人だと思っています。

I think he's a good person.

て

[te]

te-form ending

Connects actions in sequence, like 'and' or 'then'.

Example

ドアが開いて、入ります。

The door opens, and then I go in.

まし

mashi

[mah-shee]

polite past stem

Part of the polite past ending in a verb phrase.

Example

昨日は多くのことを学びました。

I learned many things yesterday.

た

[tah]

past tense ending

This ending completes the polite past tense form.

Example

空席がございました。

There were vacant seats.

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