当たり前（あたりまえ）— atarimae meaning, and vs 当然

Sentences

6 sentences, word by word

当たり前だ · as a predicate

plain

。

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約束

やくそく［0］

a promise

noun · 約束する to promise, 約束を守る to keep one

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を

marks the direct object

particle · pronounced お

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守る

まもる［2］

keeping

verb · to protect, and to keep a rule or a promise

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の

the fact of — nominaliser

particle · turns the verb clause in front into a noun so は can mark it

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は

as for — the topic

particle · written は, read わ

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当たり前

あたりまえ［0］

goes without saying

noun and な-adjective · the な drops in front of だ

当たり前N3obvious; a given

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だ

is

plain copula · です in polite speech, だった in the past

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Keeping your promises is the bare minimum.

当たり前の＋ Noun

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当たり前

あたりまえ［0］

everyday; unremarkable

in front of a noun it joins with の far more often than with な

当たり前N3obvious; a given

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の

the joiner in front of a noun

particle · 当たり前 is a な-adjective by category, but の is what gets said

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こと

the act of; the fact of

noun · turns the verb in front into a noun

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に

for

particle · 感謝する marks what you are grateful for with に

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感謝したい

かんしゃしたい

want to be grateful

感謝する＋たい · たい states a wish of your own, never somebody else's

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I want to be more grateful for the ordinary things.

を当たり前だと思う · taking it for granted

plain

。

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健康

けんこう［0］

health

noun and な-adjective · 健康な体, 健康に気をつける

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を

marks the direct object

particle · pronounced お

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当たり前

あたりまえ［0］

a given

the thing being taken for granted takes を, and 当たり前だ is quoted with と

当たり前N3obvious; a given

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だ

is

the copula stays inside the quote · 〜だと思う, never 〜と思うだ

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と

that — quotative

particle · marks the thought being reported, not the と that means “and”

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思っていた

おもっていた

had been thinking

ていた past · a state that ran for a while and has since ended

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I had been taking my health for granted.

当たり前じゃない · the gratitude frame

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毎日

まいにち［1］

every day

noun · used adverbially, no particle needed

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会える

あえる

getting to meet

potential of 会う · the person you meet takes に, never を

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の

the fact of — nominaliser

particle · makes the clause in front into a noun so は can mark it

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は

as for — the topic

particle · written は, read わ

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当たり前

あたりまえ［0］

a given

negated, this is the standard way to say “don't take it for granted”

当たり前N3obvious; a given

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じゃない

is not

casual negative of だ · written 当たり前ではない, polite ではありません

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Getting to see each other every day is not a given.

当たり前の結果 · only to be expected

polite

。

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それ

それ［1］

that

pronoun · the thing near the listener, or the thing just mentioned

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は

as for — the topic

particle · written は, read わ

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当たり前

あたりまえ［0］

only to be expected

here it judges a result rather than a duty · 当然の結果 is the written version

当たり前N3obvious; a given

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の

the joiner in front of a noun

particle · attaches 当たり前 to 結果

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結果

けっか［0］

outcome

noun · 結果として as a result, 検査結果 test results

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です

is

polite copula · だ in plain speech, でした in the past

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That was the outcome anyone could have predicted.

当たり前になる · drifting into normal

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。

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手伝って

てつだって

helping me

て-form of 手伝う · joins to くれる to show the favour came my way

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くれる

does it for me

auxiliary · marks the favour as coming toward the speaker's side

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の

the fact of — nominaliser

particle · turns 手伝ってくれる into a noun so が can mark it

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が

marks the subject

particle · what the sentence is about — with 好き, 分かる and potentials, the object

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当たり前

あたりまえ［0］

the normal thing

当たり前になる · the state something slides into with nobody deciding

当たり前N3obvious; a given

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に

into

particle · なる marks the end state with に, never を

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なっていた

had become

なる＋ていた · a change that had already finished by then

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Their help had quietly become something I just expected.

Forms

What forms does 当たり前 take?

Noun ＋は＋当たり前だ

As a predicate the な disappears: 挨拶するのは当たり前だ, polite 当たり前です. Past 当たり前だった.

当たり前の＋Noun

当たり前のこと, 当たり前の結果. な-adjective by category, but の is what people actually say — 当たり前な話 exists and sounds noticeably heavier.

Noun ＋を＋当たり前だと思う

To take something for granted. The だ stays inside the quote: 健康を当たり前だと思っていた. Also 当たり前になる, to drift into being normal.

Noun ＋は＋当たり前じゃない

Not a given. Written 当たり前ではない, polite 当たり前ではありません. This is the gratitude use, and it is far commoner than the flat negative sounds.

Meaning

当たり前 vs 当然 vs もちろん — obvious to whom?

当たり前 is what needs no saying. Not true, not correct — unremarkable. Somebody keeps their word, the train runs on time, the lights come on: 当たり前. The word carries an assumption about shared standards, so it is only ever obvious to somebody, and most of the trouble learners have with it comes from forgetting that the speaker is the one deciding what counts as normal.

当然 is the same idea in a suit. It is the Sino-Japanese reading of the same first character, it belongs to writing, news and formal speech, and it works as a bare adverb the way 当たり前 cannot: 当然、責任を取ります, naturally I will take responsibility. 当たり前 is the native word and the spoken one — warmer, blunter, and much more likely to be said with feeling behind it.

もちろん answers a question; 当たり前 judges a situation. Asked whether you can help, もちろんです is a warm yes. 当たり前です is technically also yes, but it says obviously — why would you even ask, and to a customer or a senior colleague it lands as impatience. Between close friends 当たり前だろ is affectionate; almost nowhere else is.

The other half of the word is gratitude. 当たり前だと思っていた — I had been treating it as a given — and 当たり前じゃない — this is not a given — are how Japanese says the thing English says with “I took it for granted”. It is a common enough move that the phrase 当たり前の日常, ordinary everyday life, is almost always affectionate rather than dismissive.

Inside the word

The characters in 当たり前

当 — とう · hit the mark

The simplified form of 當. Its verbs are about something landing where it should: 当たる to hit, to be right, to win a prize, and 当てる to aim one thing at another. From there it spreads into 当然 naturally, 担当 the duty that has landed on you, 弁当 and 本当, read ほんとう — truly hitting the mark.

前 — まえ · in front, and one share

Everybody meets it as before: 前 in front, 名前 a name, この前 the other day. The sense that matters here is the older one, a portion — 分け前, read わけまえ, somebody's cut of the take, and 一人前, one person's serving and, of a person, fully grown into the job.

当たり前 — あたりまえ · an established spelling

The Shogakukan dictionary explains it as a Japanese reading of 当前, an alternate spelling of 当然. The character breakdown above can help you remember the spelling; it is not a historical derivation. In modern use the accent is flat, and although the dictionaries file it as a な-adjective, in front of a noun it is の that people actually say.

Watch out

Where 当たり前 goes wrong

Answering a request with 当たり前です

It is a yes, but the yes carries obviously — why are you asking. To a customer, a client or anybody senior, say もちろんです or はい、承知しました. 当たり前だろ between close friends is warm; the same words at work are not.

当たり前な where 当たり前の belongs

It is filed as a な-adjective, so 当たり前な is not an error — it is simply the rarer choice, and it sounds heavier. 当たり前のこと, 当たり前の日常, 当たり前の結果: reach for の unless you have a reason not to.

Whose behaviour you are calling normal

Said about yourself it is modest — これくらい当たり前ですよ, brushing off thanks for a favour, is warm. Said about what somebody else owes you it is the opposite: 手伝ってくれて当たり前だ makes you sound entitled. Same word, and the direction is the whole difference.

Also asked

Questions people ask about 当たり前

What does 当たり前 (atarimae) mean?

Obvious, natural, only to be expected — the thing so ordinary that nobody thinks to mention it. It is a noun and a な-adjective: 当たり前だ as a predicate, 当たり前のこと in front of a noun. English “obvious” is close, but 当たり前 is about being unremarkable rather than about being easy to see.

当たり前 or 当然 — which one do I want?

Same core meaning, different register. 当然 is Sino-Japanese and belongs to writing and formal speech, and it can stand alone as an adverb: 当然、参加します. 当たり前 is the native, spoken word — blunter and warmer, and the one you will hear in conversation.

Is it 当たり前の or 当たり前な?

Both are grammatical and の is what people say. 当たり前のこと and 当たり前の日常 are the ordinary shapes; 当たり前な turns up in writing and sounds heavier. As a predicate neither appears — the な drops: それは当たり前だ.

What does 当たり前だと思う mean?

To take something for granted. The thing takes を and the だ stays inside the quote: 健康を当たり前だと思っていた, I had been taking my health for granted. The related 当たり前になる describes something drifting into normal without anybody deciding it should.

What does 当たり前じゃない mean?

“It is not a given.” Despite the flat negative, this is usually gratitude rather than complaint — 毎日会えるのは当たり前じゃない. Written it is 当たり前ではない and politely 当たり前ではありません.

Is saying 当たり前だ rude?

It can be. As a reply to a request it reads as “obviously”, which is impatience in most settings — use もちろんです instead. Describing a situation is safe: それは当たり前の結果だ is neutral. The one clearly warm use is about your own effort, brushing off thanks: 当たり前のことをしただけです.

References

Sources and usage notes

Kotobank: 当り前 — Defines expected and ordinary senses; traces the spelling to 当前/当然.

Nearby

Where this word turns up

わけがない vs はずがないwake ga nai · hazu ga nai

the grammar of what obviously is and obviously isn't

迷惑meiwaku

人に迷惑をかけないのは当たり前 — the other half of the same lesson

ようになるyou ni naru

当たり前になる is this same change-of-state に

JLPT N3level index

every N3 grammar point on the site

当たり前（あたりまえ） atarimae meaning

6 sentences, word by word

What forms does 当たり前 take?

当たり前 vs 当然 vs もちろん — obvious to whom?

The characters in 当たり前

当 — とう · hit the mark

前 — まえ · in front, and one share

当たり前 — あたりまえ · an established spelling

Where 当たり前 goes wrong

Answering a request with 当たり前です

当たり前な where 当たり前の belongs

Whose behaviour you are calling normal

Questions people ask about 当たり前

What does 当たり前 (atarimae) mean?

当たり前 or 当然 — which one do I want?

Is it 当たり前の or 当たり前な?

What does 当たり前だと思う mean?

What does 当たり前じゃない mean?

Is saying 当たり前だ rude?

Sources and usage notes

Where this word turns up

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