見当|けんとうkentou[3]nakadaka (mid-high)

JLPT N3approx.Common
Definitions
  1. nounestimate; guess; conjecture; aim
    それがどこにあるのか、およその見当けんとうはついている。↗
    I have a rough idea where it is.
  2. noundirection; bearings
  3. nounregistration mark (printing)
  4. noun (suffix)approximately; about; around
Synonyms & antonyms
  • Synonym推測すいそくNeutralInference from what is known; more rational and a bit more formal than 「見当」, which is a rough, intuitive estimate common in speech.
  • Synonym推察すいさつWrittenWritten/formal; surmising another's feelings or situation, as in 「ご推察の通り」; carries a polite nuance.
  • Synonym推量すいりょうWrittenWritten/formal; conjecture, and in grammar the term for conjectural expressions; rare in everyday use.
  • Synonym目算もくさんNeutralEstimating by eye, or reckoning on plans and outcomes, as in 「目算が外れる」.
  • Related忖度そんたくWrittenWritten/formal; reading someone's mind, nowadays often pandering to a superior's wishes; a distinctive social nuance.
  • Related予測よそくNeutralPredicting future events, whether from data or judgment; 「見当」 is a rough estimate held in one's head.
  • Related推定すいていWrittenWritten/formal; concluding from circumstances that something is fact, as in 「推定年齢」; leans legal or scientific.
  • Related予断よだんWrittenWritten/formal; mostly in 「予断を許さない」, saying the situation is hard to predict.
  • Related仮定かていNeutralA provisional assumption, as in 「仮定の話」; a premise you set up, not an estimate.
  • Related推論すいろんWrittenWritten/formal; logical inference from facts; academic in flavor.
  • Related察しさっしNeutralSensing and taking hints, as in 「察しがいい」; about grasping others' feelings, not estimating.
  • Related仮説かせつWrittenWritten/formal; a hypothesis awaiting verification, as in 「仮説を立てる」; academic.
  • Related想定そうていWrittenWritten/formal; assuming a scenario in advance so as to prepare for it.
  • Related憶断おくだんWrittenWritten/formal; passing judgment on mere conjecture; little used today.
  • Related揣摩臆測しまおくそくWrittenFour-character idiom, written/formal; wild, baseless guessing; derogatory.
  • Related推考すいこうWrittenWritten/formal; surmising; rare today—say 「推測」 instead.
  • Related推知すいちWrittenWritten/formal; coming to know by inference; little used today.
  • Related心当てこころあてCasualDated colloquialism for a guess or hope one holds in mind; rarely used now.
  • Related当てずっぽうあてずっぽうCasualColloquial; a blind, wild guess—unlike 「見当」, with no basis at all.
  • Related想察そうさつWrittenWritten/formal; surmising the other person's feelings; little used today.
  • Related臆度おくたくWrittenWritten/formal; groundless speculation; rare today.
  • Related揣摩しまWrittenWritten/formal; surmising; today almost only seen in 「揣摩臆測」.

Use 「見当」 for a rough estimate, general idea, or direction, as in 「見当がつく」. For rational inference say 「推測」; for reading others' feelings 「推察」 or 「察し」; for predicting the future 「予測」; for blind guessing 「当てずっぽう」. 「推定」 leans legal/scientific; 「仮定」「仮説」「想定」 are assumptions or hypotheses; 「推論」 is logical inference; 「予断」 appears in 「予断を許さない」; 「忖度」 often means pandering to someone's wishes. The rest are written or rare: 「推量」「憶断」「想察」「臆度」「推考」「推知」「揣摩」「揣摩臆測」「心当て」; 「目算」 is a rough reckoning, as in 「目算が外れる」.

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

Japanese definitions
  1. まだ確たしかめられていない事柄ことがらについて、推測すいそくをすること。みこみ。めぼし。
  2. おおよその方角ほうがく。
  3. おおよその位置いち。
  4. 版画はんがや印刷いんさつで、刷する位置いちを示しめす目印めじるし。
  5. 数量すうりょうを表あらわす語句ごくに付ついて、おおよその推測すいそく量りょうを表あらわす。
Kanji in this word
English equivalents
See also

JLPT vocabulary levels are community estimates, not official (no official lists have been published since the 2010 revision).

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