Japanese symbol for “actually”
実は
じつは
Romaji: jitsuha
as a matter of fact; by the way; to tell you the truth; to be honest
In Japanese, actually is 実は, read じつは (jitsuha).
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Meanings
- adv, exp as a matter of fact; by the way; to tell you the truth; to be honest; frankly; actually
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “actually”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 現に | げんに genni | actually; really |
| 元来 | がんらい ganrai | originally; essentially; naturally |
| 実際 | じっさい jissai | truly; really; indeed |
| 事実 | じじつ jijitsu | in fact; actually |
| 果たして | はたして hatashite | really; actually; ever |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 実際 | じっさい jissai | reality; actuality; truth |
| 事実 | じじつ jijitsu | fact; truth; reality |
| 現実 | げんじつ genjitsu | reality; actuality; hard fact |
| 実施 | じっし jisshi | enforcement; implementation; putting into practice |
| 確実 | かくじつ kakujitsu | certain; sure; definite |
See also: Chinese symbol for “actually”.
Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.