Japanese

ひとごと
Meaning: someone else's problem; other people's business; not one's concern
Part of Speech: Noun

Listen to pronunciation

Handwriting

他
人
事

Example sentences

He spoke about that problem as if it were someone else's business.
人の失敗を他人事と思わず、我が身を省みることが大切だ。
It is important not to think of other people's failures as someone else's problem, but to reflect on oneself.

Usage Notes

Originally written as '人事' (hitogoto) but now commonly written as '他人事'. Note that while written with the characters for 'other person' (tanin), the traditional reading is 'hitogoto', though 'taningoto' is also heard colloquially.

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