How to say "sure" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- 確かたしかna-adjectiveThe word for being sure or certain that something is the case, whether a fact, a detail, or your own recollection; it states the speaker's own confidence rather than a guarantee.
- 確実かくじつna-adjective, nounCovers 'sure' as in reliable and guaranteed: a sure thing, a sure method, an outcome that cannot fail. It describes objective certainty rather than a person's feeling of being sure.
- 定かさだかna-adjective, nounCovers 'definite; sure', but it is seldom the word you want: in practice it appears mostly in the negative, to say that something is not definite or cannot be pinned down.
- 違いないちがいないexpression, i-adjectiveExpresses the 'no mistaking it' sense of sure: a confident judgment that something must be the case, as when you pick out the right person or reach a firm conclusion.
- 手堅いてがたいi-adjectiveSure as in safe and dependable: it describes a method, plan or performance that is steady and unlikely to fail, putting security ahead of flashiness. It never means 'I'm sure that...'.
Choose 「確か」 for personal certainty about facts or memories, 確実 for sure-fire methods and outcomes, 「違いない」 for confident 'no doubt' conclusions, 「手堅い」 for safe, dependable sureness, and 「定か」 chiefly in negative statements.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
See also
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