the thing is

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Phrase

the thing is

1. (idiomatic, colloquial) Used to introduce the main point or issue.

   I'd like to come, but the thing is, I just can't afford it.

   • 2022 January 12, Nigel Harris, “Comment: Unhappy start to 2022”, in RAIL, number 948, page 3:

     The thing is, we've even had formal confirmation from Government itself that the crucial research required to make such sweeping claims hasn't been done!

Translations

introduce main point

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 問題是...／问题是... (zh) (wèntí shì...), 是這樣的..., 是这样的... (shì zhèyàng de...)

• Dutch: het punt is ..., het zit zo
• Finnish: kysymys on siitä, että; asia on niin, että; juttu on niin, että (colloquial)
• French: le truc, c’est que ...
• Hungarian: az a helyzet, hogy…, az az igazság, hogy…, az igazság az, hogy…, a helyzet az, hogy…, az van, hogy…
• Norwegian: greien her
• Polish: chodzi o to, że..., rzecz w tym, że..., sęk w tym, że...
• Portuguese: é que
• Russian: де́ло в то́м, что (délo v tóm, što)
• Spanish: es que, el caso es que

See also

• that's the thing
• the reality is