KOSSO-RI こっそり
Meanings
・The state of acting secretly so as not to be noticed by others.
Examples
・I sneak out while my wife’s away…
妻のいない間にこっそり・・・
・My mother was furious with me, so I secretly scribbled graffiti on a picture
of her cherished idol.
母に怒られたので、母の大事にしているアイドルの写真にこっそり落書きをしてやった。
・Those two were secretly dating without telling anyone at work.
あの二人は職場の誰にも言わずにこっそり付き合っていた。
・She slunk off from the party.
彼女はパーティをこっそり抜け出した。
Dogmatic Opinion
“Kossori” is the subjective view of the subject of the action,
“so that others will not notice,” and is not an objective covert action from the viewpoint of others.
Therefore, even if a person thinks he or she is doing something secretly, it is often obvious to those around him or her.
Behind the awareness of “not to be noticed by others” is the awareness that we are about to do something that we do not want to be noticed and that we want to keep hidden.
Proximate Expression
slink
sneak
stealthily
