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I know that もちろん is often used to mean something like "of course (you may)" or even "naturally, ..." However, what would an equivalent expression be for "of course!", used as an interjection as a result of sudden realization or comprehension? For some reason, もちろん doesn't seem right, and I don't believe I've ever heard or seen it used in this context.

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3 Answers 3

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I think the following come closest

  • when you realize something you didn't anticipate (or at least you pretend not to have anticipated, e.g. when you are being polite):

    (あぁ) そっか
    Of course! I never noticed!

  • when you had confirmed something you did anticipate:

    やっぱりね
    Of course! I knew it!

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  • How about 当たり前 ?
    – Flaw ♦
    Commented Nov 21, 2012 at 10:30
  • @Flaw Although 当たり前 can also be used as an exclamation, I don't think it quite fits here (if I understood the question correctly), because you couldn't use it out of context and still be sure that anyone will understand that you just had a sudden realisation.
    – Earthliŋ ♦
    Commented Nov 21, 2012 at 10:52
  • Ah, these both sound familiar and seem to fit the scenarios I was thinking about. Thanks!
    – user1316
    Commented Nov 21, 2012 at 11:03
  • @user1205935 Can 当たり前 be used in telling yourself how obvious it is, at the moment you realise how obvious it is? Then it would be some sort of exclamation "but of course!" to yourself.
    – Flaw ♦
    Commented Nov 21, 2012 at 12:38
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    @Flaw I don't know why, but although I might use it like that as a silent comment to myself (当たり前なのか...), I couldn't use it as an exclamation. I think both もちろん and 当たり前 need more context to work well and don't fit the bill for Eureka-like out of context exclamations.
    – Earthliŋ ♦
    Commented Nov 21, 2012 at 12:55
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Some quick impressions:

  • そっか： Oh, is that so?
  • やはり / やっぱり： I suspected that all along.
  • まさか / まじっ： No shit!
  • あった： Yay!
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  • 5
    あった does not correspond to "yay." Did you mean やった?
    – Tsuyoshi Ito
    Commented Nov 22, 2012 at 3:56
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I have also heard "あった！" used in this context. Which I assume to be a contracted/casual form of "当たり".

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    I think あった is the past tense of ある and is used when you find something. But since the found object could also be information (e.g. a sentence in a book), I guess it could be something like あった!ここにかいてある "Got it! It says right here:"
    – Earthliŋ ♦
    Commented Nov 21, 2012 at 12:48

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