How to say "indeed" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- interjection, adverbCovers the 'indeed' of acknowledgment: replying to what someone has just told you with 'I see, so that's right.' It is a conversational response, not a word for strengthening your own statement.
- adverbUsed to affirm emphatically that what another person says is true, with wholehearted agreement. Its 'just (like)' sense presents something as the very picture of a quality.
- 実にじつにadverbThe adverbial 'indeed/really/truly' that strengthens a statement or quality — 'truly remarkable,' 'indeed moving.' It sits inside the sentence to intensify what you are saying, rather than serving as a reply.
- 千万せんばんnoun, suffix, adverbChiefly an intensifier meaning 'exceedingly' or 'extremely'; its 'indeed' sense is marginal, so this is seldom the word you want for 'indeed' — reach for it only when 'exceedingly' is what you mean.
- adverb, no-adjectiveThe 'indeed' of emphatic agreement; it can stand alone as a reply — 'Quite so.' It also works as an intensifier meaning 'completely,' so it both agrees with a statement and underscores it.
Choose 「なるほど」 for the 'indeed' that acknowledges what you have just learned, 「いかにも」 or 「まったく」 for emphatic agreement, 「実に」 for the adverbial 'indeed/truly' that intensifies a statement, and treat 千万 as marginal for this meaning.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
- なるほどI see
- いかにもindeed
- 実にじつにreally
- 千万せんばんexceedingly
- はあyes
- 本にほんにindeed
- げにindeed
- どうりでindeed
- さすがにas one would expect
- 宜むべtruly
- そうともexactly right!
- むべなるかなquite right
- なるへそI see
- おうともof course
- けだしcertainly
- 実際にじっさいにactually
- さてもoh my
- 真にしんにtruly
- 誠まことindeed
- まったくindeed
- ああyes
- 実際じっさいtruly
- そうそうthat's right
- さようthat's right
- ふふんI see
- さればthat's right
- いかさまsurely
- まさかindeed
See also
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