Maji: Japanese People Use It To Say "really?" In Conversations

What does “maji” mean in Japanese?

Japanese native speakers often say “maji” to mean “really?”, “really”, or such in daily conversations. When they raise its pitch, it means ‘really?’; when they don’t, it just means ‘really’. Probably, many Japanese learners know this word as it is often used in Japanese movies, songs, anime, manga, and the like. In this blog post, however, I will explain this word in detail together with example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners understand “maji” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meanings of “maji”
  • Example #1: how to say “I’m serious” in Japanese
  • Example #2: another usage of “maji”
• Summary

Definition and meanings of “maji”

Let me start with the definition and meanings of “maji”.

• maji – マジ (まじ) : an adverb meaning ‘really’, ‘seriously’, ‘serious’, or such in Japanese.

Again, but Japanese native speakers often use this adverb in daily conversations. When they raise its pitch, it means ‘really?’, ‘seriously?’, or ‘serious?’; when they don’t, it means ‘really’, ‘seriously’, or ‘serious’. So, this Japanese adverb can work in more or less the same way as the English words written above, I think.

It’s also worth mentioning here that the katakana expression is often used, but the hiragana expression is also acceptable and very understandable.

The definition and meanings of “maji” are not that difficult, I think. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentences below.

Example #1: how to say “I’m serious” in Japanese

「watashi wa maji desu」to kanojo wa it ta -「私はマジです」と彼女は言った (「わたしはまじです」とかのじょはいった)“I’m serious”, she said.

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, the first one works after “watashi” to make the subject in the clause. The second one works after “kanojo” to make the subject in the sentence.
• desu – です : an auxiliary verb used after a noun, adjective, or adverb to make it polite. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese desu form. In the example, this is used after “maji” to make it sound polite.
• to – と : a case particle working as a quote marker. In the example, this works after “watashi wa honki desu” to indicate what she said.
• kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese.
• it – 言っ (いっ) : one conjugation of the verb, “iu“, which means ‘to say’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
• ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its past tense form. In the example, this is used after “it” to make its past tense form, “it ta”, which means ‘to have said’ in Japanese.

This is a typical usage of “maji”. In this example, it works as a part of the clause, “watashi wa maji desu”, which means “I’m serious” in Japanese. “Maji” sounds casual and thus is suitable for casual situations, but can work together with the auxiliary verb, “desu”, to become a bit more polite. Anyway, when we want to say “serious” in Japanese conversations, this adverb is a good option.

Example #2: another usage of “maji”

maji desu ka? – マジですか？ (まじですか？)Really? / Seriously? / Are you serious?

Below is the new word used in the example sentence.

• ka – か : a sentence-ending particle used to make a question. As the definition suggests, this is used at the end of the example sentence to make the question.

This is another typical usage of “maji”. In this example, it works as a part of the interrogative sentence which means ‘really?’, ‘seriously?’, or ‘are you serious?’ in Japanese. In more casual situations like conversations with friends, we can just say “maji” with raising its pitch to mean the same thing. Actually, native speakers often use it alone. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this usage well. In Japanese movies, anime, and manga, many characters just say “maji” to mean ‘really?’ or such.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “maji” in detail together with the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.

• maji – マジ (まじ) : an adverb meaning ‘really’, ‘seriously’, ‘serious’, or such in Japanese. Japanese native speakers often use this adverb in daily conversations. When they raise its pitch, it means ‘really?’, ‘seriously?’, or ‘serious?’; when they don’t, it means ‘really’, ‘seriously’, or ‘serious’. So, this Japanese adverb can work in more or less the same way as the English words written above, I think.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.

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