makka na uso lit. ‘a bright red lie’
Japanese idiom, everyday. To lie shamelessly while knowing full well it isn’t true.
Draft Not yet checked by a native Japanese speaker.
How do people use 真っ赤な嘘
?
Everyday Japanese for a lie with no truth in it at all, usually said by the person who’s been lied to or who’s denying a rumor: それは真っ赤な嘘だ (that’s a flat-out lie). To talk about the liar, add the verb: 真っ赤な嘘をつく (to tell a bright red lie). It’s often written partly in kana, 真っ赤なうそ.
Also said 真っ赤なうそ
真っ赤な嘘
in real sentences
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それは真っ赤な嘘だよ。
Sore wa makka na uso da yo.
That’s a flat-out lie.
Tatoeba, sentence by small_snow, translation by CM, CC BY 2.0 FR
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そいつは真っ赤なうそだ。
Soitsu wa makka na uso da.
That’s a big fat lie.
Tatoeba, sentence by bunbuku, translation by CK, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does 真っ赤な嘘
come from?
English Wiktionary, drawing on Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, dates 真っ赤 meaning “very red” to the mid-1400s and the sense “outright, utter” to 1724. Its explanation is that something pure red is impossible to miss, so a red lie is one anyone can see through. When 真っ赤な嘘 itself first appeared I couldn’t find out.
Mistakes learners make with 真っ赤な嘘
Thinking the red has to do with blushing or a red face. Here 真っ赤 means “total, utter”, so a liar who stays completely calm can still tell a 真っ赤な嘘.
Other Japanese idioms like 真っ赤な嘘
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