あからさま vs あきらか: How Do Native Speakers Use These?Which Is Right for You, あからさま and あきらか?
What is the difference between あからさま and あきらか? It is a useful word that you absolutely figured something out, then you will be able to use a word is “obviously” in English however, in Japanese by using 明らか and あからさま, natives can tell them subtle nuances. In this case, let me introduce how different each other is.
あからさま (akarasama)
Intentionally / Obviously
あからさま is quite close to あきらか however, あきらか is often used as intentional things which are quite bad behaviors and adding the meaning of “obviously”. For instance, あからさまな嘘 (an intentional and obvious lie ), 明らさまな反則行為 (an intentional and obvious foul play).



Beginner
Intermediate
Advanced

あきらかに (akirakani)
Clearly / Obviously / Undoubtedly / Definitely
Unlike あからさま means “あきらか(obviously) + intentionally/irony”, あきらか means just clearly, obviously and undoubtedly. And 明らか has a little bit stiff image for children don’t usually use 明らかに which is a word basically for adults. For instance, children use こたえはぜったい2番だよ! whereas adults use 正解は明らかに2番ですね!



![]() |
![]() |