Japanese

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Alternative spellings

(kyūjitai)


(obsolete)

Etymology

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From Old Japanese. Originally from (ma-, truth) +‎ こと (koto, thing).[1]

First appears in the Nihon Shoki of 720 CE in sense 2.[1]

Pronunciation

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Noun

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まこと (makoto

  1. truth; reality; fact; genuineness
    Synonyms: 本当 (hontō), 真実 (shinjitsu), 真理 (shinri)
  2. sincerity; honesty; faithfulness
    Synonyms: まごころ (magokoro), 誠意 (seii), 真情 (shinjō)

Derived terms

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Adverb

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まこと (makoto

  1. (dated) truly, really, absolutely, indeed
    Synonyms: 本当 (hontō ni), 実に (makoto ni)

Interjection

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まこと (makoto

  1. used for recalling information previously forgotten or sudden change of subjects: that's right

Proper noun

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まこと (Makoto

  1. , , 真琴: a unisex given name
  2. , , , , : a male given name
  3. 真実: a female given name

References

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  1. 1.0 1.1 真・実・誠・信”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
  2. ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  3. ^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
  4. ^ Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1974), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Second edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō