密ひそか

ひ

そ

か

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 10,000

Meanings

1

na-adjective

secret; private; surreptitious

Describes actions or feelings kept hidden from others; often used with に to mean 'secretly' or 'in private'.

彼かれは密ひそかに彼かの女じょに恋こい心ごころを抱いだいていた。
He secretly had feelings for her.
密ひそかな

楽たの

しみ

と

し

て

、

夜よ

中なか

に

小しょう

説せつ

を

書か

い

て

いる

。

As a private pleasure, I write novels late at night.

Written forms

密ひそかUsage32%
Standard kanji spelling; the most common written form for this word.
ひそかUsage59%
秘ひそかUsage8%
Alternate kanji spelling, less common than 密か but still encountered.
私ひそかUsage<1%
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form.
窃ひそかUsage<1%
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form.
竊ひそかUsage<1%
search-only kanji form
Search-only kanji form; not used in modern writing.

Kanji

密secrecy, density (pop), minuteness
秘secret, conceal
私private, I, me
窃

Similar words

秘ひ密みつ
秘密 is a noun meaning 'secret' or 'confidential matter', while 密か is an adjectival noun describing the manner of doing something secretly.
内ない緒しょ
内緒 is a casual noun for 'keeping something a secret from others', often used in personal contexts; 密か is more formal and can describe hidden actions or feelings.

Etymology

The reading ひそか is of native Japanese origin. The kanji 密 carries the meaning of 'secret' or 'dense', fitting the word's sense. The exact derivation is uncertain.

stealth, steal, secret

竊steal, secret, private