「私のこと好きならもっとかまってよ。」
= Watashi no koto sukinara motto kamatte yo.
= If you like me, pay more attention to me.
「マギー先生はレッスン作らないの？」
= Maggie Sensei wa ressun tsukuranai no?
= Isn’t Maggie Sensei making a lesson?
「マギーのことだからさぼってるんじゃないの？」
= Maggie no koto dakara sabotterun janai no?
= You know how Maggie is. She’s probably slacking off.
Hi everyone! Today’s guest teacher is みつよ先生 ( = Mitsuyo Sensei)
Her big brother みつ ( = Mitsu) taught a couple of lessons here in past.
Now it is her turn to teach you some Japanese.
***
みなさん、こんにちは、みつよです。よろしくお願いします。
= Minasan, konnichiwa, Mitsuyo desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu
= Hello everyone! I am Mitsuyo! Nice to meet you!
マギー先生が私のことかわいいって言ってくれたけど、きっとみんなに言ってるよね。
= Maggie Sensei ga watashi no koto kawaiitte itte kureta kedo, kitto minna ni itteru yone.
= Maggie Sensei told me that I am cute, but I bet she says that to everyone.
So today I am going to teach you how to use noun + のこと( = no koto)
Many of you already know こと ( = koto) is used to nominalize a verb.
verb plain form (present, future, present progressive tense, etc.) + こと ( = koto)
* する ( = suru) to do →すること ( = suru koto) doing
* 勉強する ( = benkyou suru) to study →勉強すること( = benkyou suru koto) studying
Ex. 毎日、勉強することが大切です。
= Mainichi, benkyou suru koto ga taisetsu desu.
= Studying every day is important.
( = It is important to study every day.)
Today we will focus on こと ( = koto) with a noun
★ How to form:
noun + のこと( = no koto )
You may wonder, “But noun is already a noun and what is the purpose of using こと ( = koto)?”
Let’s find out!
1) personal pronoun + のこと ( = no koto)
You often use のこと ( = no koto) with a person.
A: マギーが好きです。
= Maggie ga suki desu.
B: マギーのことが好きです。
= Maggie no koto ga suki desu.
They both mean “I love/like Maggie.” but A) is just a direct object, “Maggie” and sounds more pinpointed.
B) sounds more indirect/abstract and slightly softer.
マギーのこと ( = Maggie no koto) means “things about Maggie”/“who Maggie is” which involves her nice personality, things she does, her beautiful appearance, her greatness, or her whole existence.
(→Maggie told me to emphasize this point. )
If you ask someone if he/she remembers you, you say:
C: 私を覚えていますか？
＝ Watashi wo oboete imasu ka?
D: 私のことを覚えていますか？
= Watashi no koto wo oboete imasu ka?
They both mean “Do you remember me?” but 私 ( = watashi) is just a direct object, “me” but 私のこと( = watashi no koto) implies things about me, who I am, and it implies certain memories of one’s experiences in some situations.
If you ask someone if he/she is mad at you, you ask
E: 私に怒ってるの？
= Watashi ni okotteru no?
= Are you mad at ME?
Trying to make clear who you are mad at.
Or
F: 私のこと怒ってるの？
= Watashi no koto okotteru no?
= “Are you mad at what I did to you/Are you angry at things I did to you?”
(てる= teru is a casual way to say ている ( = teiru). You drop い ( = i) in casual conversation)
G: 僕を信じていないの？
= Boku wo shinjite inaino?
= You don’t believe/trust ME?
H: 僕のこと信じていないの？
= Boku no koto shinjite inai no?
= You don’t believe me (my what I said? / what I do/did?)
****
I will show you more examples with のこと( = no koto)
Ex. 一郎君のこと、どう思ってるの？(casual)
= Ichirou-kun no koto, dou omotteruno?
= What do you think about Ichiro?
Ex. あの子達は私のことを馬鹿にしている。
= Anokotachi wa watashi no koto wo baka ni shiteiru.
= They (Those children/young people) are looking down on me.
Ex. 彼女のことが忘れられない。
= Kanojo no koto ga wasurerarenai.
= I can’t forget about her.
Ex. 子供のことを思って厳しく叱った。
= Kodomo no koto wo omotte kibishiku shikatta.
= I scolded my child severely thinking about him/her.
2) time-related word + のこと ( = no koto): things about a certain time / what happen/ happened in a certain time
If you don’t remember what you did yesterday, you say:
Ex. 昨日のことは何も覚えていない。
= Kinou no koto wa nanimo oboete inai.
You can’t say
X 昨日を何も覚えていない。
= Kinou wo nanimo oboete inai.
You have to say 昨日のこと ( = kinou no koto) to refer to what happened yesterday.
Ex. 今日のことは二人だけの秘密にしておこう。
= Kyou no koto wa futaridake no himitsu ni shite okou.
= Let’s keep what happened today a secret between you and me.
Ex. 今までのことは水に流します。
= Imamade no koto wa mizu ni nagashimasu.
( Literally = Let’s let what has happened until now flow away in the water.)
= Let’ let bygones be bygones.
Ex. 明日のことは心配しないで。
= Ashita no koto wa shinpai shinaide.
= Don’t worry about (what will happen) tomorrow.
Ex. 昔のことを気にしても仕方がない。
= Mukashi no koto wo kinishite mo shikataga nai.
= There is no use worrying about (what happened in ) the past.
Ex. 彼はまだ去年のことを気にしている。
= Kare wa mada kyonen no koto wo kini shite iru
= He is still concerned about (what happened) last year.
Ex. 自分のことを話すのが苦手だ。
= Jibun no koto wo hanasu no ga nigate da.
= I am not good at talking about myself.
3) regarding ~ / about ~
When you talk about certain things, you use のこと ( = no koto)
Ex. 彼女はお金のことで悩んでいた。
= Kanojo wa okane no koto de nayande ita.
= She was worrying about money.
Ex. 野球のことはいつでも私に聞いてください。
= Yakyuu no koto wa itsudemo watashi ni kiite kudasai.
= You can ask me about baseball anytime.
Ex. 試験のことを考えると眠れない。
= Shiken no koto wo kangaeru to nemurenai.
(Literally = I can’t sleep thinking about the exams.)
= Worrying about the exams is making me lose sleep.
Ex. あの二人は子供のことで喧嘩をしている。
= Ano futari wa kodomo no koto de kenka wo shiteiru.
= Those two (they) are fighting over their children.
4) When you bring up some topics for you:
It depends on the case but it is used when you talk about relatively important topics.
Noun + のこと(= no koto)
+ なのですが ( = nano desu ga) / ですが ( = desuga)
+ (casual) なんだけど ( = nandakedo) / だけど ( = dakedo)
= As for ~ / Regarding ~ / About ~
Ex. 明日のデートのことだけど…(casual)
= Ashita no deeto no koto dakedo…
= About the date tomorrow…
Ex. 部長、会議のことなのですが….(polite)
= Buchou, kaigi no koto nano desuga..
= (Talking to the department manager) As for the meeting tomorrow…
Ex. マギーのことなんだけど…
= Maggie no koto nandakedo…
= Regarding Maggie, (I need/want to talk about Maggie)
Ex. 子供「お母さん、お小遣いのことなんだけど…」
= Kodomo: Okaasan, okozukai no koto nan dakedo.
= Mom, about my allowance…
母「なに？この間、あげたじゃない。」
= Haha: “Nani? Konoaida ageta janai.”
= Mother: I just gave you some the other day.
子供「実は、もう全部使っちゃったんだ..。」
= Kodomo “Jitsu wa, mou zenbu tsukacchattanda.”
= Child: “Actually I already spent all the money.
Noun + のこと( = no koto)
+ で ( = de) + what you want to do/need to do
Ex. 留学のことで相談したいのですが…
= Ryuugaku no koto de soudan shitai no desu ga…
= I would like to talk to you about studying abroad.
Ex. 仕事のことでお話したいんだけど…(casual)
= Shigoto no koto de ohanashi shitain dakedo…
= I would like to talk about work…
Note: We tend to leave sentences unfinished on purpose in Japanese. It sounds softer.
Check 曖昧 ( = aimai) lesson
***
For more advanced learners:
Noun *+ のことだから ( = no koto dakara) / (more casual) Noun* + のことだし( = no koto dashi)
Note: It’s usually “person”
How to use:
When you presume what someone would do based on their habitual behavior/ their typical actions/ personality / the way they think
Since someone always ~/ Knowing that person very well + I presume he/she would do something.
For example, you know your friend, Kazuko, is good at cooking. She always cooks great food.
And you are talking about her with your other friend who is invited to her house.
Ex. 料理が得意な和子のことだからきっとすごいご馳走を作ってくれるよ。
= Ryouri ga tokuina Kazuko no koto dakara kitto sugoi gochisou wo tsukutte kureruyo.
= Since (I know) Kazuko is good at cooking, I bet she will cook something really special for you.
If your friend also knows that Kazuko is good at cooking, you can omit the first part.
Ex. 和子のことだからきっとすごいご馳走を作ってくれるよ。
= Kazuko no koto dakara kitto sugoi gochisou wo tsukutte kureruyo.
= Knowing Kazuko well, I bet she will cook something really special for you.
Ex. 「まだ田中君来てないね。」
= Mada Tanaka-kun kite naine.
= Tanaka-kun is not here yet, huh?
「彼のことだからまだ寝ているんじゃない？」
= Kare no koto dakara mada neteirun janai?
= It is typical of him. Maybe he is still sleeping.
(The speaker knows Tanaka-kun tends to oversleep or be late.)
Ex. 「鈴木さん、仕事変わったみたいだよ。」
= Suzuki-san, shigoto kawatta mitai dayo.
= I heard Suzuki-san changed her job.
「飽きやすい性分の彼女のことだから１ヶ月も持たないね。」
= Akiyasui shoubun no kanojo no koto dakara ikkagestu mo motanai ne.
= Since she gets bored easily, I bet it won’t last even a month.
Note: The polite form is ことですから ( = koto desu kara)
Ex. 時間にうるさい木村さんのことですからきっと明日は誰よりも早く来ると思います。
= Jikan ni urusai Kimurasan no koto desu kara kitto ashita wa dareyori mo hayaku kuru to omoimasu.
= Since Kimura-san is always punctual, he/she will probably come earlier than anybody else tomorrow.
Ex. 兄:「あれ？鍵がない！」
= Ani: Are? Kagi ga nai!
= Older brother: What? I can’t find my key.
妹:「お兄ちゃんのことだからまたドアにさしたままなんじゃない？」
=Imouto: Oniichan no koto dakara mata doa ni sashita mama nanjanai?
=Younger sister: (Talking to her older brother) How typical of you. / You always do that. You probably left the key on the door, didn’t you?
You can also say ことだし ( = kotodashi). It sounds more casual.
You might hear ことだし( = kotodashi) at the end of the sentence in casual speech.
→またドアにさしたままなんじゃない？お兄ちゃんのことだし…
= Mata doa ni sashita mama nanjanai? Oniichan no koto dashi…
= (Talking to her older brother) You probably left the key on the door, didn’t you? That’s something typical of you. / You always do things like that.
Note: ことだし ( = kotodashi) can be used with verbs or adjectives besides nouns.
verb/adjective + ことだし( = kotodashi): Since /Because ~ (giving a reason for what comes next.) + expressing your will / giving a suggestion to someone as to what to do
Ex. もう勉強も終わったことだし出かけよう。
= Mou benkyoumo owatta kotodashi dekakeyou.
= Since I finished studying, I guess I am going out now.
Ex. 彼も謝ったことだし許してあげたら？
= Kare mo ayamatta kotodashi yurushite agetara?
= Since he apologized to you, I think you should forgive him.
Ex. 大切なことだしよく覚えていた方がいいよ。
= Taisetsuna koto dashi yoku oboete ita hou ga iiyo.
= This is something important so you should keep it in mind.
*****
From the picture above:
「マギー先生はレッスン作らないの？」
= Maggie Sensei wa ressun tsukuranai no?
= Isn’t Maggie Sensei making a lesson?
「マギーのことだからさぼってるんじゃないの？」
= Maggie no koto dakara sabotterun janai no?
= You know how Maggie is. She’s probably slacking off.
こと( = koto) has many different functions. Check out other lessons.
Verb present tense / adjective + ことがある ( = koto ga aru)
verb past tense + ことがある ( = koto ga aru)
ことになる ( = koto ni naru) / ことにする ( = koto ni suru)
ということ ( = toiu koto)
There are more interesting and useful expressions with こと ( = koto). We will keep adding them when we have a chance.
このレッスンを読んでくれてありがとう！
= Kono ressun wo yonde kurete arigatou!
= Thank you for reading this lesson!
****
マギー先生より = Maggie Sensei yori = From Maggie Sensei
みつよ先生ありがとう！= Mitsuyo Sensei arigatou! = Thank you Mitsuyo-sensei
これからはさぼらないでもっと真面目にレッスンを作りますね。
= Korekara wa saboranai de motteo majime ni ressun wo tsukurimasu ne.
= I will not slack off now and work harder making more lessons.
*****
My supporters on Patreon can access an audio file for this lesson on Patreon page and some mini lessons and quizzes.
Audio File for this lesson
Click here.
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19 Comments
Hello there Maggie-sensei!
I’ve been using your lessons for awhile now and had a question about this sentence. Or rather, I suppose I wanted to make sure I am reading it correctly.
[ケンシくんが好きっていうもののことは･･････]
A character is ruminating on another character and I was a bit confused seeing もののこと back to back here, but after reading your lesson もの is making the previous phrase a noun and then のこと is now modifying that noun, right?
So it becomes “About what I like about Kenshi-kun” or since the sentence trails off “What I like about Kenshi-kun is…”
Please correct me if I’m mistaken, and thank you for all the lessons!
Hello かえで
It is a little hard to interpret the sentence without knowing the context but the literal translation is
“About the thing(s) Kenshi-kun likes….”
This interpretation only works if this speaker is talking about something that Kenshi likes.
マギー先生！
「勉強も終わったことだし出かけよう。」
「彼も謝ったことだし許してあげたら？」
これ、詳しく説明にくいかもしれないけど…
それら例文で「が/を」の代わりに「も」は「勉強」と「彼」に付いている理由を説明してもらえませんか？
This may be difficult to fully explain but, could you explain why in these sentences the partical も is attached to 彼 and 勉強 instead of say が or を?
「彼も謝った」は英語で「He’s also apologised」だから、リスナーも謝ったという意味ですか？そうでなければ、教えて下さい。よろしくお願いします。
Since「彼も謝った」means 「he also apologised」, does that imply the listener has also apologised? If not, please tell.
Thank you.
こんにちは、Cameron
も has a function of “also” and “to emphasize what comes before.”
In this case the later.
So 彼も謝った He did apologize
勉強も終わった emphasizing 勉強
Check this lesson. Click here.
Hello, doesn’t really have anything to do with the subject i would like some help.
この文と大体同じ意味の文があります is supposed to mean “There is a sentence that means basically the same thing as this sentence”, but why use と in this sentence ? Souldn’t it be は ?
Hi ピエル！
The subject of the sentence is 文
文があります。= There is a sentence.
So when you use 同じ, you need a particle と
AとBは同じです。 = A and B are the same.
AとBは同じsomethingです。 = A and B are the same ~~.
→Aと同じBがあります。= There is B which is the same as A.
Okay, i think i get it, thank you very much :)
You’re welcome, ピエル！ :)
Thank you very much for this lesson Maggie 先生, it’s really detailed, thank you!
however, I am a little confused .. What’s the difference between N + の こ と and に つ い て? both mean “about” right?
for example :
野球のことはいつでも私に聞いてください。
we could say :
野球についていつでも私に聞いてください
is it the same thing?
Hello Audrey,
OK, I guess I explained のこと as “things about something/someone” and the word “about” made you confused.
What I meant by “things about” is not “on the particular subject = ついて”
You can say
野球のことはいつでも私に聞いてください。
(or 野球に関することならいつでも私に聞いてください。)
“Ask me anything about baseball/ anything related to baseball.)
but 野球についていつでも私に聞いてください is not quite natural.
You can say 彼は野球について詳しい。・野球についてよく知っている。 He knows a lot about baseball.
この本は野球について書かれている。= This book is about baseball. (with the specific theme)
You say
彼は私のことが好きみたいだ。He seems to like me.
But you can’t say
彼は私について好きみたいだ。
Here’s a confusing example.
彼は私についてなにも知らない。
彼は私のことをなにも知らない。
These two sentences can be translated “He doesn’t know anything about me.”
The difference is
私について is more specific: what I did/ my background/my history, etc.
私のことを is more general, who I am (Ex. it could be what I did/background as well but it is more about my personality,)
Thank you very much for your answer. I have understood correctly now . =)
Great!! よかった！！😊
おかげさまで、やっとよく分かりました。
先生、ありがとうございました。
こんにちは、マギー先生。
授業ありがとうございました。
ちょっと一つ質問があるのですけど、「Nのこと」と「Nであること」は何か違うのですか？
教えてくれてお願いいたします。
デイビッド
こんにちは、デイビッド！
「Nのこと」、「Nであること」の違いですね。
Nのことはもうこのレッスンで説明しましたが、
N = N/ things about N
Nであることは being N / should be N / the fact that ~ is Nなどいろいろな使い方があります。
Ex. 私のこと好き？ = Do you like me?
You can’t say 私であること好き？
Ex. 昨日のこと聞いた？
= Did you hear what happened yesterday?
(You can’t say 昨日であること）
***
Nであること is used in a formal speech/writing.
1) should
このサイトでは先生は犬か猫であること。
The teacher should be a dog or a cat on this site.
2) Nであること = the state of being N / the fact of being N / being N
私であること being myself
いい母親であることは大変だ。= Being a good mother is hard.
教えてくれてありがとうございました。
なるほどですね。あるテキストの名詞化の例文は、「明日の授業が休講であることを皆に連絡してください」があります。そういえば、あの「休講であること」って、「休講べきだ」とか「休講だ」とか、そういういみですか？
お願いします。
その例文の「Nであること」は
〜ということ (that N is ~ ) という意味です。
明日の授業が休講ということ ”that tomorrow’s class is cancelled”
おかげさまで、やっとよく分かりました。
先生、ありがとうございました。
よかった〜♫