Breakdown of sono sonzai o shirimasendeshita.
をo
direct object particle
知るshiru
to know
そのsono
that
存在sonzai
existence or presence
Questions & Answers about sono sonzai o shirimasendeshita.
What does その mean here?
その is the determiner that before a noun.
So その存在 literally means that existence. In natural English, it is often translated as its existence or the existence of that thing, depending on the context.
A useful comparison:
- この = this
- その = that
- あの = that over there / that one we both know
In this sentence, その usually refers to something already mentioned in the conversation or text.
What does 存在 mean exactly?
存在 means existence.
It is a noun, and it sounds a bit formal or abstract compared with very everyday wording. So その存在 is literally that existence.
Japanese often uses abstract nouns like this in places where English might use a simpler phrasing. So even if the Japanese says existence, the most natural English translation may just be I didn’t know about it or I didn’t know it existed.
Why is を used after 存在?
