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You are here: Home / Casual Words / Idiom 何を隠そう (nani o kakusou) Meaning “Well, in fact…”

Idiom 何を隠そう (nani o kakusou) Meaning “Well, in fact…”

September 2, 2019

Table of Contents

  • Pronunciation
  • Definition
  • Grammar
  • Example Sentences

Pronunciation

https://takashionary.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/20200628-190048.m4a

Definition

‘何なにを隠かくそう’ (nani o kakusou) is an idiomatic expression that literally means ‘What would I conceal? (I won’t any)’. This expression is used when you want to emphasise information that you are about to share with others (similar to “in fact” in English). For instance, The sentence ‘何を隠そう、私わたしが彼かれと彼女かのじょを結むすびつけたのだ’ (nani o kakusou, watashi ga kare to kanojo wo musubituketa noda)  is translated as ‘What would I conceal? I brought him and her together’ (≒ ‘You know what? It’s me who brought him and her together.’).

As in the example above, this expression is often employed when you reveal something about yourself. Although mostly used in writing, the idiom contains rather a casual and playful tone. It is also used in Anime, and therefore if you used this phrase in speech, chances are you sound like a weird anime otaku.

Grammar

This expression is short for ‘何なにを隠かくすだろうか (Nani o kakusu darouka; What would I conceal?)’, and it is kind of a rhetorical question which is intended to be followed by ‘何なにも隠かくさないだろう (Nani mo kakusanai darou; I won’t conceal anything)’. Here, 隠かくす (kakusu) means ‘conceal’ or ‘hide’.

Example Sentences

Ex1

何を隠そう、この島から宝を奪ったのはこの私だ!

Nani o kakusou (What would I conceal/You know what?) It’s me who stole the treasure from this island!

Ex2

多くの人は仕事を先延ばしてしまうが、何を隠そう、私もその一人である

A lot of people end up procrastinating thier work, and nani o kakusou (What would I conceal/You know what)? I am also one of them.

Synonyms: None
Synonyms in English: You know what?
Related words and phrases: 隠す (hide, conceal)

Filed Under: Casual Words, idiom

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Comments

  1. mi says

    September 11, 2021 at 10:27 pm

    Hi,

    I would like to ask if this idiom is really not frequently used in speech. I looked this phrase up on youglish and I found many people use it in speech. Please check it out: https://youglish.com/pronounce/%E4%BD%95%E3%82%92%E9%9A%A0%E3%81%9D%E3%81%86/japanese?

    Thank you for all your hard work. It’s very helpful.
    Have a nice day.

    Reply
    • Takashi says

      September 12, 2021 at 3:32 pm

      Thanks for your comment! Yea I had a look at the examples and found that many of them are used in “decorative” speech (i.e. presenting information in a bit showy/flamboyant way), which is indeed prevalent on YouTube/Anime (you know…). I have to say that the nuance of this expression is very subtle and difficult to put into words; I mean, it’s totally fine to use this expression in a conversation, but it may sound like you’re trying to unveil information that impresses or surprises your listeners (but not always, depending on the way you put it, but definitely not a phrase I often use or hear in a daily convo).

      Reply
      • mi says

        September 13, 2021 at 2:12 am

        Oh I got it! I think I will be a little bit careful with this phrase then. Thank you so much for replying back to me!

        Reply

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