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まとも (matomo) Japanese meaning: the front | Kotomora
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He didn't look me straight in the face.
Advance straight into the wind.
Usage patterns 〈 事こと 〉 をまともに 受う ける to take something (a remark, blow, etc.) directly or at face value
I took his joke seriously, at face value.
まともな 〈 人ひと 〉 a decent, sensible person
A decent person would surely keep a promise.
〈 人ひと 〉 とまともに 向む き 合あ う to face someone directly, without avoiding the issue
You should sit down and talk with her face to face.
まともな 〈 事こと 〉 a proper, respectable thing (job, life, plan, etc.)
He's looking for a proper, steady job.
Kanji 正 correct, justice, righteous 真 true, reality, Buddhist sect Related words· 6 まとも and 真面目 both describe someone honest and sensible, but 真面目 stresses diligence and seriousness of effort while まとも stresses being basically decent or 'not crooked'.
直接 is a neutral word for 'directly' in any context, while まとも (as まともに) adds a nuance of facing something head-on, often physically or forcefully.
正直 focuses narrowly on truthfulness, while まとも covers a broader sense of being decent, proper, or sound in general.
まとも means 'proper, decent' and can be used in positive or negative sentences, while ろくな only appears before a negative predicate to mean 'no decent...'.
Show 2 more まとも is the common, everyday word for 'proper/decent', while 真っ当 sounds slightly more formal or emphatic when praising someone's honesty or lifestyle.
まとも is a na-adjective/noun meaning 'decent' or 'normal,' while ちゃんと is an adverb describing doing or being something in a proper way.
Opposites でたらめ describes something nonsensical or irresponsible, the opposite of まとも's sense of being decent, sound, or proper.
Written forms まとも Usage 98%
Standard kana spelling; the word is usually written in kana.
マトモ Usage 2%
正面まとも
rarely-used kanji form
Rare kanji form; can be confused with 正面 (しょうめん).
真面まとも
rarely-used kanji form
Rare kanji form.
真ま 正と 面
Etymology Derived from 真 (ま, 'true') + 面 (とも, 'face/direction'), originally meaning 'directly facing'. The figurative sense of 'honest/upright' developed from the idea of being straightforward.
も
rarely-used kanji form
Rare kanji form.
