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本当に (ほんとうに) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

本ほん当とうに

also: ほんとに

ほ

ん

と

う

に

Common wordJLPTN5Freq.FrequencyTop 200

Meanings

1

adverb

Expresses genuine feeling, strong emphasis, or sincerity. Used in both statements and exclamations.

本ほん当とうにありがとう。
Thank you so much.
それは本ほん当とうにあった話はなしですか。
Is that a true story?

本ほん当とうに？

Really?

Written forms

本当に
- ほんとうに
  Standard kanji spelling; the most common written form.
- ほんとに
ほんとに
Contracted colloquial form; very common in speech and informal writing.
ホントーに
Katakana variant with long vowel mark; search-only.

Kanji

本book, present, main
当hit, right, appropriate

Similar words

本ほん当とう
本当 is a noun/adjective meaning 'truth' or 'real'; 本当に is its adverbial form meaning 'really' or 'truly'.
まじで
Very casual slang, similar to 'seriously?' or 'for real?'. 本当に is neutral and can be used in any situation.

Etymology

Adverbial form of 本当 (truth, reality), which is composed of 本 (true, real) and 当 (hit, correct).