1

My online language class taught us how to reply with our age(s) in a sentence. We were also told that you could reply with "naisho" meaning secret if you weren't going to provide your age. However, I've not seen anywhere that uses this term in a sentence. How do say this correctly in Japanese and not just use a one word response of naisho? Such as "my age is a secret."

Dan
  • 11
  • 2
  • Have you tried to look up naisho (内緒) on a dictionary or online? – Marco Jan 28 '19 at 04:54
  • I see what the word means, but would like to know how it would be used in a sentence, specifically "my age is a secret." – Dan Jan 28 '19 at 05:24
  • @Dan If you're not aware, there are online dictionaries that will provide sample sentences. https://jisho.org/search/%E5%86%85%E7%B7%92%20%23sentence – Keiki Jan 28 '19 at 13:46
  • That's a great site, was not aware of such a dictionary. – Dan Jan 31 '19 at 00:59

1 Answers1

7

内緒【ないしょ】 (naisho) functions as a simple noun (although it also works as a so-called "no-adjective"). You already know how to say "This is a pen" or "I am a student" in Japanese, right? Then you can employ the exact same grammar.

私【わたし】の年【とし】は内緒【ないしょ】です。
My age is a secret.

This is the "full" sentence, but people usually do not bother to repeat the topic (私の年) when it has been already clearly indicated in the previous question:

内緒です。
(It's) a secret.

And in casual speech, です is often omitted. So actually a one-word response is not bad in this case:

内緒。
(It's) a secret.

naruto
  • 313,860
  • 13
  • 324
  • 625
  • 1
    Why 内緒 and not 秘密(ひみつ)? Is it just a matter of usage? There's Are there differences in nuance and usage of 内緒, 秘密 and "Please keep it a naisho because it is a himitsu." (google), but I don't feel like I understand the difference and/or appropriateness. – Pablo H Jan 28 '19 at 14:01
  • The 内 in 内緒 makes me think that it's more like saying "that doesn't concern you" rather than it being a "hush hush no-one must know" kind of thing, for which 秘密 would be more appropriate. – Valdimar Jan 28 '19 at 15:00
  • 1
    @PabloH Because the asker wanted to know how to use 内緒 :) In this case they're interchangeable. Basically 内緒 is only for personal secrets regarding one's privacy. You can say ピラミッドの秘密 but not ピラミッドの内緒 or such. – naruto Jan 28 '19 at 20:08
  • Upon the initial posting, wasn't expecting any feedback whatsoever, certainly didn't expect it to be so constructive. Thank you to all the input, it's been very helpful! – Dan Feb 10 '19 at 21:56