How to say "true" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- prenominal modifierThe English word taken over as a katakana loanword, used in technical and specialist contexts; for the everyday senses of 'true' — real, genuine, truthful — it is seldom the word you want.
- 純粋じゅんすいna-adjective, no-adjectiveReally the word for 'pure' — unmixed, with nothing extraneous, of substances, motives or feelings; its 'true' sense is the 'pure and simple' one, so it is only marginal for 'true'.
- 真のしんのprenominal modifierThe default adjective for 'true' in the sense of real and actual rather than false or pretended — a true friend, the true reason; it modifies a following noun.
- 実勢じっせいno-adjectiveA noun for the actual, prevailing state of things — the 'true' figure or level as opposed to a nominal or stated one; chiefly economic and market usage, not a general word for 'true'.
- 真正しんせいna-adjective, no-adjectiveEmphasizes genuineness and authenticity — the true article as opposed to something fake or counterfeit; nearer to 'authentic' than to everyday 'true', so choose it when authenticity, not truthfulness, is the point.
For 'true' meaning real or genuine, 「真の」 is the default; 真正 stresses authenticity against fakes; 純粋 is really 'pure'; 実勢 names the actual prevailing figure; 「トゥルー」 is a loanword for specialist uses.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
See also
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