真っ直ぐ（まっすぐ、maっsugu）
- straight

The Japanese word 真っ直ぐ (まっすぐ) primarily means "straight," "directly," "upright," or "honest." It can describe a physical direction or an abstract concept like honesty or straightforwardness. It indicates something is without curves, bends, or detours. It can be used as an adverb or an adjective, depending on the context. It can also describe the quality of being honest and truthful.

⚫︎ 真っ直ぐ歩いてください。 Translation: Please walk straight. ⚫︎ 道が真っ直ぐ続いている。 Translation: The road continues straight. ⚫︎ 彼はいつも真っ直ぐな人だ。 Translation: He is always an honest person.

This word is very versatile and commonly used in everyday conversation. ⚫︎ When giving directions: You can use it to tell someone to go straight. ⚫︎ When describing an object: You can use it to describe something that is straight, such as a road, a line, or a posture. ⚫︎ When describing someone's character: It can describe a person as being honest or straightforward. The context will help determine whether 真っ直ぐ is used in a literal or metaphorical sense.

⚫︎ The standard way to write this word is 真っ直ぐ in mixed kana and kanji. ⚫︎ The kanji is 真 (ま) meaning "true," "genuine," or "right," and the hiragana is っ (small tsu which indicates a double consonant) and すぐ (直ぐ) meaning "immediately" or "straight." ⚫︎ It is always written in hiragana as まっすぐ. ⚫︎ The okurigana (送りがな, the hiragana that follows the kanji) is 直ぐ, so the kanji form is only really used with 真. ⚫︎ The variation with kanji is 真直, which is also considered correct.

⚫︎ ストレート (sutoreeto): "straight" (loanword from English) ⚫︎ 一直線 (いっちょくせん): "in a straight line" ⚫︎ 正直 (しょうじき): "honest" ⚫︎ 素直 (すなお): "obedient," "docile," "straightforward"

⚫︎ 曲がる (まがる): "to turn," "to bend" ⚫︎ 斜め (ななめ): "diagonal," "slanting" ⚫︎ 嘘つき (うそつき): "liar"

この道は真っ直ぐだから、すぐに着きますよ。 ・Translation: This road is straight, so you'll arrive quickly. ・Explanation: This sentence uses 真っ直ぐ to describe the direction of a road.

彼は真っ直ぐな性格で、嘘をつくことが嫌いだ。 ・Translation: He has an honest personality and hates to lie. ・Explanation: Here, 真っ直ぐ describes someone's honest character.

The word is a combination of 真, which means "true" or "genuine", and 直ぐ which means "straight" or "immediately." The small "っ" indicates a gemination (doubling) of the consonant of the following syllable, emphasizing the "straightness" of the meaning. The combination of these parts gives a meaning of directly and truly in various ways.