Having an idea
Idioms, Stage 1chunk 5 of 21Noticing & the mind
Knowing or not knowing who, why or what: the two most-said idioms of the topic (357, 251) plus the 'I know full well' answer.
- kokoroatari ga aruhave an idea who, why or whereliterally “a match in the mind exists”
- kentou mo tsukanaihave no idea at allliterally “not even an estimate sticks”
- hyaku mo shouchiknow perfectly wellliterally “aware a hundred times over”
Mix-ups kentou mo tsukanai (not even a guess) and kokoroatari ga nai (nothing comes to mind) both come out as 'no idea'; hyaku mo shouchi is 'I know', usually followed by a 'but'.
kokoroatari ga aru
polite kokoroatari ga arimasu
“a match in the mind exists”
have an idea who, why or where
Asked when something is lost, missing or odd and you want leads. You'll mostly hear it as a question, kokoroatari wa? or nanka kokoroatari aru?, and the answer is often zenzen nai. It means you know a possible cause from your own experience, while kentou ga tsuku is making a rough guess.
Negative: kokoroatari ga nai (no idea at all). Related: omoi ataru fushi ga aru (something comes to mind that might explain it).
doko de nakushita ka, kokoroatari aru?
Any idea where you lost it?
どこでなくしたか、心当たりある？
doko de nakushita ka, kokoroatari wa arimasu ka?
Do you have any idea where you lost it?
どこでなくしたか、心当たりはありますか？
Written 心当たりがある · こころあたりがあるHeard 357× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitlesLearn alongside kentou mo tsukanaiMain list aru (Stage 1)
kentou mo tsukanai
polite kentou mo tsukimasen
“not even an estimate sticks”
have no idea at all
In English: not have a clue
The standard answer when you can't even guess who, where or how much: zenzen kentou mo tsukanai, or casually kentou tsukanai. The positive kentou ga tsuku means 'I can roughly guess'. Don't confuse it with kentou suru (look into, consider).
Positive: kentou ga tsuku (have a rough idea).
doko ni aru ka kentou mo tsukanai.
I have no idea where it could be.
どこにあるか見当もつかない。
doko ni aru ka kentou mo tsukimasen.
I have no idea where it could be.
どこにあるか見当もつきません。
Written 見当もつかない · けんとうもつかないHeard 251× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitlesLearn alongside kokoroatari ga aruMain list -nai (Stage 1), mo (Stage 2)
hyaku mo shouchi
polite hyaku mo shouchi desu
“aware a hundred times over”
know perfectly well
In English: know full well
Said defensively when someone points out a risk or downside you've already weighed, often as sonna koto wa hyaku mo shouchi da, or to concede a point before going ahead or asking a favour: muri na onegai na no wa hyaku mo shouchi desu ga...
Plain alternative: wakatteru tte (I know, I know).
abunai no wa hyaku mo shouchi da yo. demo yaru.
I know full well it's risky. I'm doing it anyway.
危ないのは百も承知だよ。でもやる。
abunai no wa hyaku mo shouchi desu. demo yarimasu.
I know full well it's risky. I'm doing it anyway.
危ないのは百も承知です。でもやります。
Written 百も承知 · ひゃくもしょうちHeard 25× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitlesMain list mo (Stage 2), abunai (Stage 2)