1.
talking to oneself; soliloquy; monologue
Speaking aloud to oneself without addressing anyone, often while thinking or working.
彼は独り言が多い。
He talks to himself a lot.
「困ったな」と独り言を言った。
"This is a problem," I muttered to myself.
独り言のつもりが、聞かれていた。
I thought I was talking to myself, but someone heard me.
隣の席の人がぶつぶつと独り言を言っていて気になった。
The person sitting next to me was mumbling to themselves, and it bothered me.
難しい問題を考えている時、つい独り言が出てしまう。
When I'm thinking about a difficult problem, I end up talking to myself without realizing it.
独り言 is speaking aloud to oneself, often unconsciously while thinking or working through a problem.
FORMATION: 独り (alone) + 言 (speech/saying)
KANJI VARIANTS:
- 独り言: standard writing
- ひとりごと: often written in hiragana
- 独言: compact kanji form (less common)
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 独り言を言う: to talk to oneself
- 独り言が多い: to talk to oneself a lot
- 独り言のように: as if talking to oneself
- ぶつぶつと独り言: mumbling to oneself
RELATED ~言 WORDS:
- 寝言: sleep-talking
- たわ言: nonsense, drivel
- 泣き言: whining, complaining
Related Words
Related:
寝言 (sleep-talking)