Japanese word

てっきり

Pronunciation

Romajitekkiri

Meaning

  • adverbsurely

Example

私はてっきり彼が来ると思っていました。watashi wa te kki ri kare ga ku ru to omo tte i ma shi ta

I was sure he would come.

Illustration for てっきり (surely)

More examples

てっきり今日は休みだと思って、学校へ行きませんでした。te kki ri kyō wa yasu mi da to omo tte gak kō e i ki ma se n de shi ta

I was sure today was a holiday, so I did not go to school.

Core concept

てっきり (tekkiri) marks an assumption that feels certain to the speaker, especially when later information overturns it.

Common phrases

  • てっきり来ると思うte kki ri ku ru to omo u

    be sure someone will come

  • てっきり同じだと思うte kki ri ona ji da to omo u

    be sure something is the same

Similar words

きっとkitto: Marks a confident belief about a likely event or state.
間違いなくmachigainaku: Indicates certainty that an event will occur or a condition will hold.
必ずkanarazu: Indicates that something will certainly happen or is always true in a given situation.

Definition in Japanese

間違いなくそうだと強く思っていたさま。ma chiga i na ku sō da to tsuyo ku omo tte i ta sa ma

Word origin

The Japanese adverb てっきり (tekkiri) has the older recorded form てきり (tekiri), but its exact historical formation and original source remain uncertain.

Usage tips

  • てっきり (tekkiri) is a conversational adverb that frequently appears before と思っていた (to omotte ita) or と思い込んでいた (to omoikonde ita) in accounts of past assumptions.

Word lists with this word