実態

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 実態 is read as じったい and is a noun for actual conditions or reality rather than outward appearance.
• Basic usage: Reality revealed by investigation appears in 実態が明らかになる, while conditions hard to know from outside appear in 暮らしの実態は分からない.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Surface appearance and actual conditions
  • It denotes the real circumstances confirmed through investigation or experience rather than an external impression or nominal description.
• Difference from 現状
  • 現状 means the state at the present time, while 実態 focuses on the actual circumstances or true nature behind appearances or labels.