Japanese word

実体

Pronunciation

Romajijittai

Meaning

  • nounsubstance

Example

その計画には実体がありません。so no kei kaku ni wa jit tai ga a ri ma se n

That plan has no substance.

Illustration for 実体 (substance)

More examples

具体的な証拠があれば、その主張に実体が加わります。gu tai teki na shō ko ga a re ba so no shu chō ni jit tai ga kuwa wa ri ma su

Concrete evidence gives that claim substance.

Core concept

Points to what a thing actually is and consists of, rather than how it merely appears or is labeled.

Common phrases

  • 実体のないjit tai no na i

    insubstantial

  • 実体を伴うjit tai o tomona u

    have substance

Similar words

実質jisshitsu: The real content, value, or nature of something beneath its outward form.
本質honshitsu: The fundamental nature that makes something what it is.
実像jitsuzō: The true form or reality of something as it actually exists.

Definition in Japanese

見かけや名目ではなく、現実に存在するものとしての本体や内容。mi ka ke ya mei moku de wa na ku gen jitsu ni son zai su ru mo no to shi te no hon tai ya nai yō

Word origin

実体 (jittai) is a Sino-Japanese compound of 実 (jitsu, "real") and 体 (tai, "body"), referring to a thing in its real form.

Usage tips

  • When English substance means material content, 実体 (jittai) often instead refers to the actual entity or reality behind something.

Other meanings

  • entitynoun
  • realitynoun

Opposites

  • 虚構kyokōfictionnoun

Related words

  • 実体的jittaitekisubstantialna-adjective
  • 実体化jittaikaactualizationnoun

Word lists with this word