Japanese word

思い当たる

Pronunciation

Romajiomoiataru

Meaning

  • verbrecall

Example

彼の顔を見て、以前会ったことに思い当たりました。kare no kao o mi te i zen a tta ko to ni omo i a ta ri ma shi ta

Seeing his face, I recalled having met him before.

Illustration for 思い当たる (recall)

More examples

その説明を聞いて、問題の原因に思い当たりました。so no setsu mei o ki i te mon dai no gen in ni omo i a ta ri ma shi ta

After hearing the explanation, I realized the cause of the problem.

Core concept

Describes a thought suddenly reaching a memory, cause, or answer that had been out of mind.

Common phrases

  • 思い当たる節omo i a ta ru fushi

    a likely explanation

  • 思い当たる原因omo i a ta ru gen in

    a likely cause

  • 思い当たるところomo i a ta ru to ko ro

    something that comes to mind

Similar words

思い出すomoidasu: To bring a person, fact, or past event back to mind.
思い浮かぶomoiukabu: To come to mind as a memory, idea, or image.
気づくkizuku: To become aware of a fact, problem, or meaning.

Definition in Japanese

何かをきっかけに、忘れていた事実や理由などに気づく。nan ka o ki kka ke ni wasu re te i ta ji jitsu ya ri yū na do ni ki zu ku

Word origin

思い当たる (omoiataru) is a native Japanese compound of 思い (omoi, "thought") and 当たる (ataru, "hit or reach"), expressing a thought reaching the relevant memory or reason.

Usage tips

  • Unlike ordinary remembering, 思い当たる (omoiataru) often presents a clue or thought as leading to a realization and commonly occurs with the particle に (ni).

Other meanings

  • think ofverb
  • realizeverb

Opposites

Word lists with this word