内緒

Japanese

Kanji in this term
内	緒
ない Grade: 2	しょ Grade: S
on'yomi

Alternative spelling
內緖 (kyūjitai)

Etymology

Sound shift from 内(ない)証(しょう) (naishō, “a secret”).^[1]

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) ないしょ [nàíshó] (Heiban – [0])^[2]
IPA^(key): [na̠iɕo̞]

Noun

内(ない)緒(しょ) • (naisho)

a secret
内緒(ないしょ)にしてね。
Naisho ni shite ne.
Keep it a secret, okay?
secrecy
内緒(ないしょ)のアルバイト
naisho no arubaito
secret part-time job

Usage notes

Less formal than 秘密(ひみつ) (himitsu); used in conversations between friends or by small children, although both can be used in casual setting.

Synonyms

秘密(ひみつ) (himitsu), 内密(ないみつ) (naimitsu), 密(ひそ)か (hisoka)

References

^ “内緒”, in デジタル大辞泉 [Digital Daijisen]‎^[1] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, updated roughly every four months
^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN