The differences between 真理,真相 and 真実


I've often seen 真理,真相 and 真実 in contexts that to me seem interchangeable.

Could some one give examples of where each word is most appropriate? When is
one more appropriate than the other?

For instance, which is best suited to saying:

> The truth is above all else




Interesting question. I would say that there is little interchangeability
between any two of those three words (even though a dictionary would probably
tell you that they all mean "truth"). I am answering without using a
dictionary.

From a native speaker's prospective, [真理]{しんり} is by far the "biggest" word of
the three. It is mostly used in a religious or philosophical discussion to
refer to the "ultimate" kind of Truth with an uppercase T. It is far from
being an "everyday" kind of word for most people. (However, when 真理 is read
まり, it suddenly becomes an everyday kind of a girl's name.)

[真実]{しんじつ} is the often-used word to refer to "truth" or "fact" for general
purposes. It is in everyone's active vocabulary. Literally, anything that is
true or is a fact can be called 真実. (I will not mention my ex-colleague
[真実]{まみ}.)

[真相]{しんそう} refers to a collection of little [真実]{しんじつ}'s. It is the bigger
(and deeper) picture of an incident which it takes time and effort to arrive
at. It is the whole "story" rather than a piece of information that has been
proved to be true.

So, to say "The truth is above all else.", the usual word choice would be 真実,
but as I said above, one could use 真理 if it is said in the context of a highly
religious or philosophical discussion. Using 真相 there is out of the question.




Interesting question. I would say that there is little interchangeability
between any two of those three words (even though a dictionary would probably
tell you that they all mean "truth"). I am answering without using a
dictionary.

From a native speaker's prospective, [真理]{しんり} is by far the "biggest" word of
the three. It is mostly used in a religious or philosophical discussion to
refer to the "ultimate" kind of Truth with an uppercase T. It is far from
being an "everyday" kind of word for most people. (However, when 真理 is read
まり, it suddenly becomes an everyday kind of a girl's name.)

[真実]{しんじつ} is the often-used word to refer to "truth" or "fact" for general
purposes. It is in everyone's active vocabulary. Literally, anything that is
true or is a fact can be called 真実. (I will not mention my ex-colleague
[真実]{まみ}.)

[真相]{しんそう} refers to a collection of little [真実]{しんじつ}'s. It is the bigger
(and deeper) picture of an incident which it takes time and effort to arrive
at. It is the whole "story" rather than a piece of information that has been
proved to be true.

So, to say "The truth is above all else.", the usual word choice would be 真実,
but as I said above, one could use 真理 if it is said in the context of a highly
religious or philosophical discussion. Using 真相 there is out of the question.

