What does “shoujiki” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers say “shoujiki” often to mean ‘honesty’ in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this word as it is sometimes used in Japanese conversations. In this blog post, however, I will explain this word in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners understand “shoujiki” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definitions and meanings of “shoujiki”
Let me start with the definitions and meanings of “shoujiki”.
- shoujiki – 正直 (しょうじき) : a noun meaning ‘honesty’ in Japanese. This can also work like an adjective to mean ‘honest’ in Japanese. Especially in speaking, this can also work as an adverb to mean ‘honestly’ or ‘to be honest’.
In Japanese, the border between nouns and some adjectives called na-adjectives is very ambiguous. Many na-adjectives consist of a noun and a conjugative suffix, but native speakers quite often omit the suffix especially in speaking. Many Japanese nouns, therefore, can be the shortened versions of the corresponding na-adjectives. “Shoujiki” is one of them. It can work as the shortened version of the na-adjective, “shoujikina”, which means ‘honest’ in Japanese.
In addition, especially in speaking, native speakers use this word as an adverb to say “honestly” or “to be honest” in Japanese.
To understand this word more clearly, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.
Shoujiki in kanji
The kanji expression of “shoujiki” consists of the following two kanji characters:
- 正 : a kanji character widely used to mean ‘right’, ‘correct’, or such in Japanese.
- 直 : a kanji character widely used to mean ‘straight’ in Japanese.
These two kanji characters tell us that “shoujiki” literally means ‘right and straight’ in Japanese. This literal interpretation is not completely in line with the actual meanings, but still understandable, I think. Being right and straight is often related to being honest.
When we meet new kanji expressions, we should check their kanji characters in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, kanji characters tell us a lot about the meanings of the expressions they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “shoujiki” through the detailed kanji check above.
So far, I’ve explained the definitions and meanings of “shoujiki” together with its kanji characters. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “honesty” in Japanese
kanojo wa shoujiki de shira re te iru – 彼女は正直で知られている (かのじょはしょうじきでしられている)
She is known for her honesty.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “kanojo” to make the subject in the sentence.
- de – で : a case particle used to say how someone does something. In the example, this is used after “shoujiki” to say how she is known.
- shira – 知ら (しら) : one conjugation of the verb, “shiru”, which means ‘to know’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
- re – れ : one conjugation of the auxiliary verb, “reru”, which is used after a verb to make its passive form. In the example, this is used after “shira” to make its passive form, “shira re”, which means ‘to be known’ in Japanese.
- te – て : a conjunctive particle used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its te form. In the example, this is used after “shira re” to make its te form, “shira re te”. Verbs need to be changed to their te forms to be connected with “iru”.
- iru – いる : an auxiliary verb used to express the continuity of the action described by its preceding verb. In the example, this is used after “shira re te” to express the continuity of its action.
This is a typical usage of “shoujiki”. In the example, it works as a noun and means ‘honesty’ in Japanese. When we want to say “honesty” in Japanese, this noun is a good option.
Example #2: how to say “honest” in Japanese
watashi no kareshi wa totemo shoujiki – 私の彼氏はとても正直 (わたしのかれしはとてもしょうじき)
My boyfriend is very honest.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
- no – の : a case particle used after a noun or pronoun to make its possessive case. In the example, this is used after “watashi” to make its possessive case, “watashi no“, which means ‘my’ in Japanese.
- kareshi – 彼氏 (かれし) : a noun meaning ‘boyfriend’ in Japanese.
- totemo – とても : an adverb of degree meaning ‘very’, ‘much’, ‘so’, or such in Japanese. In the example, this works in front of “shoujiki” to emphasize its meaning.
This is another typical usage of “shoujiki”. It looks completely the same as the last one. In this example, however, it works as the complement in the sentence and means ‘honest’ in Japanese.
Example #3: how to say “honestly” in Japanese
shoujiki kare wa kakkoyoku nai – 正直彼はかっこよくない (しょうじきかれはかっこよくない)
Honestly, he is not handsome.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kare – 彼 (かれ) : a pronoun meaning ‘he’ in Japanese.
- kakkoyoku – かっこよく : one conjugation of the i-adjective, “kakkoii“, which means ‘handsome’ or such in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
- nai – ない : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to deny its meaning. In the example, this is used after “kakkoyoku” to deny its meaning.
This is another typical usage of “shoujiki”. If it were not used, a sentence could still make sense: ‘he is not handsome.’ So, we can understand that it works as an adverb. Japanese native speakers often use this type of “shoujiki” especially in speaking.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definitions and meanings of “shoujiki” in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- shoujiki – 正直 (しょうじき) : a noun meaning ‘honesty’ in Japanese. This can also work like an adjective to mean ‘honest’ in Japanese. Especially in speaking, this can also work as an adverb to mean ‘honestly’ or ‘to be honest’. These two kanji characters literally mean ‘right and straight’ in Japanese. This literal interpretation is not completely in line with the actual meanings, but still understandable, I think. Being right and straight is often related to being honest.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.