事実
Meaning in Englishfact, truth, reality
Animated kanji stroke order
Related sentences
Related sentences
There are no published items in this section yet.
Word context
What it means
What does 事実 (jijitsu) mean? 事実 (jijitsu) denotes an objective fact or state of affairs that actually occurred or can be verified, distinguished from opinion, assumption, or fiction; speakers use it to point to what is demonstrably true in reporting, conversation, and formal statements.
Main meanings
- An established fact determined by evidence or verification, often cited in investigations or legal contexts.
- A neutral descriptor for the actual state of affairs in news reporting and academic writing (focus on accuracy, not moral judgment).
- A contrastive term used to correct misconceptions or emphasize that reality differs from belief or rumor.
- Component in compounds and set expressions where it contributes the sense of factuality or practical reality.
How to use it
Used across registers: common in formal writing (legal documents, news, academic) and in everyday speech when distinguishing fact from opinion; functions primarily as a noun but appears in set phrases to introduce corrections or factual claims; not typically used to express moral truth or personal sincerity, where words like 真実 (shinjitsu) or hontō are preferred.
Variants and close terms
- 真実 (shinjitsu) — truth (often moral or absolute truth).
- 実際 (jissai) — actuality, the way things actually are (emphasis on practical experience).
- 事実上 (jijitsujō) — de facto, in practice (derived compound indicating practical reality).
- 虚偽 (kyogi) — falsehood (antonym).
Composition
- 事 (koto / on'yomi ji): matter, affair, event — denotes an occurrence or thing.
- 実 (mi / on'yomi jitsu): truth, reality, substance — denotes actualness or truth.
- Combined as 事実 (jijitsu): the compound links 'matter/event' + 'reality' to convey the notion of an actual, verifiable fact.
Etymology
事実 (jijitsu) is a Sino-Japanese (kango) compound adopted from Classical Chinese vocabulary; the modern pronunciation reflects on'yomi readings that entered Japanese through historical contact with Chinese written texts and scholarly usage.
Origin
The lexical concept arrived with Chinese writing and classical texts during the Nara–Heian periods and was used in administrative, Buddhist and Confucian literature; over centuries it became standard in modern Japanese law, journalism and education for naming objective facts.
Word class
noun (名詞)