他人事

Japanese

Alternative forms

• 人事, 人ごと

Etymology

From 人事(ひとごと) (hitogoto), with the irregular spelling 他人(ひと) (hito) used in place of 人(ひと) (hito) to avoid confusion with 人事(じんじ) (jinji). Taningoto is the regular, originally non-existent reading.

Noun

他人(ひと)事(ごと) • (hitogoto)  (nonstandard) (alternative reading hiragana たにんごと, rōmaji taningoto)

1. someone else's concern or problem

Usage notes

Often used in the form 他人事(ひとごと)のよう (hitogoto no yō), meaning to act as if something doesn't concern you, or is not your problem. Similar to "That's none of my business."

Related terms

• 他人