当たり前
Meaning in Englishnatural, obvious, common
Animated kanji stroke order
Word context
What it means
When asked 'What does 当たり前 mean?', it denotes something natural, obvious, or expected in a given situation; it describes a standard or norm that requires no special justification, and it is used to express that something is normal within a particular context.
Main meanings
- obviousness or naturalness in a given context
- taken for granted or assumed to be true
- the norm or standard expectation in a social or practical setting
- the obvious choice or the thing that should be done
How to use it
Used as a noun or na-adjective to describe things that are natural, obvious, or expected; in casual speech it marks something as common sense, while in formal writing it can discuss norms or societal expectations; typically used with the copula だ or です to state that something is the norm.
Variants and close terms
- 当然 (tōzen) — synonym; means 'as a matter of course'
- 普通 (futsū) — synonym; means 'normal, ordinary'
- 珍しい (mezurashii) — antonym; means 'rare, unusual'
Composition
- 当たり: noun form of 当たる; implies due, hit, or appropriate
- 前: front, before
Etymology
etimologia The pronunciation atarimae comes from the native noun form 当たり (from 当たる) combined with 前; the word is treated as a native compound rather than a borrowword, preserving a kun'yomi-based reading.
Word class
na-adjective, noun (na-adjective / noun)