Word
心当たり
Meaning in Englishhaving some knowledge of, happening to know
Animated kanji stroke order
Word context
What it means
心当たり means having knowledge or awareness about a person or matter, often implying memory, recognition, or a usable basis for a response.
Main meanings
- awareness or recollection about a person, event, or matter; a sense that something is familiar
- a subtle impression that something is true or plausible based on partial information
- an intuition about what happened or what is being referred to
How to use it
- Used with ある or ない to express that you have or do not have knowledge, memory, or awareness about something
- The polite form is 心当たりがございます / 心当たりがありません (kokoroatari ga gozaimasu / arimasen) for formal contexts
- Common in casual conversations, journalism, and everyday speech to explain memory or likelihood
Variants and close terms
- 覚えがある (obo e ga aru) - memory or recall
- 覚えがない (obo e ga nai) - no memory or recall
- 連想する (rensou suru) - to recall by association
Composition
- 心: heart, mind
- 当たり: hitting, coming to mind, being applicable
Word class
Noun (名詞) with Japanese usage: used with ある/ない
Related words by kanji and components
N1
該当
gaitou
corresponding, answering to, coming under
N1
肝心
kanjin
essential, fundamental, crucial
N1
当～
tou～
Our ~ (e.g., Hotel, plane, etc.)
N1
当選
tousen
being elected, winning the prize
N1
自尊心
jisonshin
self-respect, conceit
N1
下心
shitagokoro
secret intention, motive
N1
当て
ate
expectations; depend
N1
当て字
ateji
phonetic-equivalent character, substitute character
N1
～心
～shin
mind of ~