Languages › Japanese Learn the Japanese Word Jitsuwa Share Flipboard Email Print Japanese Essential Japanese Vocabulary History & Culture Japanese Grammar By Namiko Abe Namiko Abe Japanese Language Expert B.A., Kwansei Gakuin University Namiko Abe is a Japanese language teacher and translator, as well as a Japanese calligraphy expert. She has been a freelance writer for nearly 20 years. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on June 14, 2017 The Japanese word jitsuwa, pronounced precisely as the phonetic spelling indicates, translates to mean "really", "in reality", "in point of fact", "the fact is", etc. It may also mean "to tell the truth", depending on the context. Japanese Characters 実は （じつは） Example Jitsuwa mada haha ni hanashite inai.実はまだ母に話していない。 Translation: To tell the truth, I haven't told my mom yet. Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Abe, Namiko. "Learn the Japanese Word Jitsuwa." ThoughtCo, Jan. 29, 2020, thoughtco.com/jitsuwa-meaning-and-characters-2028578. Abe, Namiko. (2020, January 29). Learn the Japanese Word Jitsuwa. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/jitsuwa-meaning-and-characters-2028578 Abe, Namiko. "Learn the Japanese Word Jitsuwa." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/jitsuwa-meaning-and-characters-2028578 (accessed June 2, 2023). copy citation