まこと

Japanese
Alternative spellings
真
実
誠
信 (obsolete)

Etymology

From Old Japanese. Originally from 真 (ma-, “truth”) +‎ こと (koto, “thing”).[1]

First appears in the Nihon Shoki of 720 CE in sense 2.[1]

Pronunciation

Noun

まこと • (makoto) 

  1. truth; reality; fact; genuineness
    Synonyms: 本当 (hontō), 真実 (shinjitsu), 真理 (shinri)
  2. sincerity; honesty; faithfulness
    Synonyms: まごころ (magokoro), 誠意 (seii), 真情 (shinjō)

Derived terms

Adverb

まこと • (makoto) 

  1. (dated) truly, really, absolutely, indeed
    Synonyms: 本当に (hontō ni), 実に (makoto ni)

Interjection

まこと • (makoto) 

  1. used for recalling information previously forgotten or sudden change of subjects: that's right

Proper noun

まこと • (Makoto) 

  1. 実, 真, 真琴: a unisex given name
  2. 誠, 允, 周, 学, 展: a male given name
  3. 真実: a female given name

References
  1. “真・実・誠・信”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎ (in Japanese), concise edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000
  2. Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  3. NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK Publishing, →ISBN
  4. Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1974), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Second edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō
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