need help translating 「本音を言うと自分の部屋で一人でいるほうがホッとできます。」


「本音を言うと自分の部屋で一人でいるほうがホッとできます。」

I tried to translate words separately but I couldn't seem to make sense of it
as a whole sentence. Something about saying your real feelings (about
something) when you're alone in your room? Also I'm not sure what the ホッと
means.




「本音を言う」means "To speak one's true feelings"; however, when used in the form
of「本音を言うと、…」or「本音を言えば、…」at the start of the sentence like this, it often means
"To tell you the truth, (...)" or "Honestly( though), (...)" etc. The「…ほうが…」on
the other hand denotes comparison to something else, and the「ホッとできる」is just
the potential form of「ほっとする」, i.e. "to feel relieved". It's often written with
katakana like this, but the meaning is the same as with the hiragana form.

As a whole, the sentence translates to something to the effect of "To be
honest, I('m able to) feel more at ease when I'm alone in my own room",
although the details would vary slightly depending on the context.

