How to say "indirectly" in Japanese

• それとなくCommon
  adverbCovers the 'obliquely' side of 'indirectly': you do or say something in an offhand, unobtrusive manner so that your real intention does not show, as when feeling out someone's reaction or fishing for information.
  彼かれの手紙てがみはその事件じけんにそれとなくふれている。↗

  His letter alludes to the event.
• 暗にあんにCommon
  adverbCovers the 'implicitly, by implication' side: the point is conveyed through hints rather than stated in words, so the listener is left to grasp what is meant without its being said outright.
  この事ことが暗あんに意味いみすることは最初さいしょは理解りかいされなかった。↗

  The implications of this did not at first sink in.

Both mean conveying something without stating it outright: 「それとなく」 highlights acting in an unobtrusive way so your real purpose stays hidden, while 「暗に」 highlights the message being implied or tacitly understood rather than spoken.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• それとなくindirectly
• 暗にあんにimplicitly
• それとなしにindirectly
• それとはなしにindirectly
• よそながらwhile at a distance