Japanese word

つじつま

Pronunciation

Romajitsujitsuma

Meaning

  • nouncoherence

Example

この話はつじつまが合っています。ko no hanashi wa tsu ji tsu ma ga a tte i ma su

This story is coherent.

Illustration for つじつま (coherence)

More examples

彼は証言のつじつまを合わせるため、資料を確認しています。kare wa shō gen no tsu ji tsu ma o a wa se ru ta me shi ryō o kaku nin shi te i ma su

He is checking the documents to make his testimony consistent.

Core concept

Describes details that fit together so that an account remains logically consistent from beginning to end.

Common phrases

  • つじつまが合うtsu ji tsu ma ga a u

    be coherent

  • つじつまを合わせるtsu ji tsu ma o a wa se ru

    make things consistent

  • つじつまが合わないtsu ji tsu ma ga a wa na i

    be inconsistent

Similar words

整合性seigōsei: The condition in which related facts agree and form a consistent whole.
一貫性ikkansei: The condition of preserving the same meaning or principle throughout.

Definition in Japanese

物事の前後や細部が食い違わず、全体の説明が納得できる状態。mono goto no zen go ya sai bu ga ku i chiga wa zu zen tai no setsu mei ga nat toku de ki ru jō tai

Word origin

The Japanese noun 辻褄 (tsujitsuma) combines 辻 (tsuji, "crossroads") and 褄 (tsuma, "hem"), whose meeting points suggest details fitting together.

Usage tips

  • In detective fiction, つじつま (tsujitsuma) often concerns whether clues and explanations fit together, even before their truth is proven.

Other meanings

  • consistencynoun

Opposites

  • 矛盾mujuncontradictionnoun
  • 不整合fuseigōinconsistencynoun

Word lists with this word