VocabularyJLPT N5 · core

本当

ほんとう

hepburn hontou

truth, really

Part of speech · noun / na-adjective

Pattern visualization

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Examples

本当ですか？
Really?
本当にありがとう。
Truly, thank you.

Collocations

本当 (hontou, true / really)本当に (hontou ni, truly)嘘 (uso, lie)本物 (honmono, the real thing)本気 (honki, serious)

Mnemonic

Hontou (本当) is the Sino-Japanese "real / true" — 本 (origin / true) + 当 (correct) = "originally correct = truth." Functions as noun, na-adjective, and adverb (hontou ni, truly). A daily-conversation staple for surprise, confirmation, and emphasis. Casual variants: honto (ホント / ほんと, casual), maji (slang "for real," youth register), honki (本気, serious / earnest — honki wo dasu, "show one's serious side"). Antonym uso (嘘, lie) — also a surprise interjection ("uso!" = no way!). Korean "jeongmal / jinjja / jin-sim / geo-jit-mal" parallels. Trust-vocabulary cluster: shin'you (credit / trust), honne (real feeling), tatemae (public face) — the honne vs tatemae split is a Japanese cultural-code core, and hontou sits near honne.

Quick check

Japanese "real feeling vs public face" pair?