Hi everyone! Thank you for visiting Maggie’s room. Feel free to leave a message (Even just say Hello! 👋 ) I don’t do translations, check your long writing or help your homework for school here but I can answer one or two simple Japanese questions. Love you all! 🐶❤️
35 Comments
Hello Maggie,
I said that I have some questions about how to use ‘-tara ii / to ii’. For now, just ‘to ii’…
A common explanation/translation I find on the internet for the grammatical structure ‘[sentence]+to+ii desu’ is that this is how you say you are hoping for something. Example sentences given: 明日晴れるといいですね。(I hope that tomorrow will be sunny) or 週末雨じゃないといいですね。(I hope it doesn’t rain this weekend).
My own literal translation of a Japanese sentence of this type is closer to ‘it would be nice/good if it is sunny tomorrow’, similar to how ‘ii ne’ is often said as a way to express general approval or liking of something. Thus: ‘[sentence]+to+ii desu’ = ‘If [sentence], then it is good’ = ‘It would be nice/good if [sentence].’
This is a perfectly acceptable thing to say in English and, in many cases ‘I hope [sentence]’ can also be used with the same meaning nuance: ‘It would be nice if it’s sunny tomorrow.’ = ‘I hope that it will be sunny tomorrow.’ This is a more casual/informal/non-specific way of talking.
However, in English, ‘I hope..’ can imply a strong reason why you are hoping for something. For example: ‘I hope it won’t rain this weekend (because I’m going to Disney World with the family and rain would ruin it.).’ This implies that the person is worrying about it. ‘It would be nice if …’ implies that the person doesn’t really care if it rains or not. The family is going to Disney World no matter what the weather is like.
So, finally, my question. Do you always say ‘[sentence]+to+ii desu’ in Japanese and depend on situation or context to distinguish between what I call the weak (nice/good if) and strong (I hope) meanings? Or is there a way to express the strong meaning of ‘I hope’ in a more direct way, e.g., using nozomi (noun) or nozomu (verb) or some other word?
Very interesting questions as always.
Q: Do you always say ‘[sentence]+といいです’ in Japanese and depend on the situation or context to distinguish between what I call the weak (“nice/good if”) and strong (“I hope”) meanings?
I would say yes, but it depends on the context.
If you’re making small talk with someone and don’t actually care that much about the outcome,
→ 明日はいいお天気になるといいですね。
→the weak meaning: “It would be nice if…”
But, for example, if you’re talking to someone whose family member is sick,
→ 早く治るといいですね。
This clearly has the stronger nuance “I hope he/she gets better soon.”
So, if you’re talking about something light and mutual (things that affect both you and the listener),
the weak meaning (“nice/good if”) works well.
But if you’re talking about something more important or serious that affects either you or the listener personally,
then the nuance of といいですね is closer to the strong meaning — “I hope…”
And if you want to express your desire directly to someone, you can use:
〜といいんですが／〜といいのですが…
This adds a polite and slightly more personal or hopeful nuance.
If you’re talking to yourself and want to express a strong wish casually,〜といいな is commonly used.
Thanks a lot. I am beginning to better understand how the extra meaning of a Japanese sentence (often the emotional content) is actually carried by the situation. Perhaps this is partly a general cultural difference between Asian and Western countries regarding their socio-linguistic habits.
Just like so many others who ask about the meaning of a Japanese sentence, I too often try to find the meaning in the Japanese words used, when in fact the meaning difference is found in the characteristics of the situation. This is a difficult concept to put into practice, even if I understand it intellectually!
I was recently also reading your page on how to use 気になる. A dictionary definition of the meaning covers everything from ‘wonder about’ to ‘worry about’ which makes an isolated sentence’s English translation almost impossible to understand. Which meaning do you choose? But, once you understand that the meaning difference (the emotional content) is found in the situation, then it all makes much more sense.
Of course, this also means that I have to think like a Japanese person, which is not so easy as learning a grammatical rule.
You may have noticed that I have changed my email address. I’m not sure how your website works when screening posts … but it is still the same ‘Michael’ but with a different email address.
Hi Michael again
Learning a language is really interesting. Some words you can translate easily, but others—like 気になる—depend a lot on the situations.
Sometimes, you just need to get a feel for the meaning instead of thinking about it logically. A good way to do this is by reading lots of example sentences and seeing how the word is used in different situations.
Ideally, one day we can stop trying to translate everything and just understand the meaning directly.
About your email—since I approved your comment, it should appear automatically from now on.
Hello Maggie,
Do you have a page where you discuss といい / -たらいい? It is supposed to be a JLPT3 grammar point, and I have some questions about it. If you do have a page on this topic then I will go to that page first and read it. (I tried searching your site, but couldn’t find anything).
Thanks.
Hi Michael
You are right. I have a lesson on
いい
方がいい
noun がいい vs nounでいい
でもいい
ばいい（のに）
But I haven’t made a lesson on ～といい or ～たらいい yet.
I’ll add it to my list of requested lessons.
This might take some time, so please wait patiently. 待っていてくださいね。
Is it OK if I ask my questions now (3 interconnected questions)? From what little I have found on the internet, I think I understand the Japanese part. It is the English translations that are confusing me.
Michael
Of course! Please feel free to ask your questions here anytime. ☺️
Good evening Maggie.
1) I found the following kanji 者全て in the sentence: Does it make sense grammatically?
2) Analyzing the following sentence: FBIの機密事件簿を盗んだ, I had a doubt. Is it necessary to put な after 機密?
3) What is the function of 最初に in the following sentence: 物事を最初に始めた人。
Hi Matheus
1) There must be a verb or a noun before 者
For example
ここにいる者全て〜 = everyone here / all those who are here
違反者、全て~ (いはんしゃすべて） = all violators・offenders
2) 機密事件簿 is just fine. 機密 is a noun. So you could rephrase it as 機密の事件簿, but since の is already used after FBI, using 機密事件簿 looks/sounds more natural.
3) 最初に+ verb = do/did something first
物事を最初に始めた人 = The person who started things first
Thanks Maggie. I have one more question. Does 乳房 refer only to women or does it apply to both sexes?
If it’s read as ちぶさ, it’s used for women.
If it’s read as にゅうぼう, it usually refers to female breasts, but it can also be used for both men and women in medical contexts.
Good evening Maggie. Does the kanji チャージ refer to the payment required for a service/product or does it refer to the fee/charge for a product/service? Or can it mean both, depending on the context?
Hi Bruno
The word チャージ in Japanese is used
1) (noun) A fee or charge required for a service (Ex. テーブルチャージ = table charge)
2) (verb) to charge (add money) onto a prepaid card
(Ex. Suicaに2,000円チャージした。= I charged 2,000 yen onto a Suica card)
Good evening Maggie, I would like you to tell me the function of にして in this sentence: 山の中を本拠地にして通行人を襲う盗賊。It’s the only part I don’t understand.
おはよう Matheus
OK here’s the basic pattern
AをBにする = to make A into B
→When you continue the sentence AをBにして + do something = to make A into B and do something
It describes what kind of 盗賊 they are →山の中を本拠地にして( + 通行人を襲う） make the mountains into their base (and attack passersby)
thank you
Anytime! ☺️
Good evening Maggie. I would like to know the function of the particle で (next to the particle は) in the following sentence 単体では攻撃力の低い通常モンスターでしかない。
I would also like to add the adjective 下級 to this sentence, qualifying the word モンスター. How would you make this sentence? If you want, you can remove the kanji 通常.
こんばんは、Pedro
単体では攻撃力の低い通常モンスターでしかない,
The で in 単体で marks the state/condition. Just like in 一人で戦う (to fight alone) or チームで戦う (to fight as a team).
単体で means “when alone” or “as a single unit”, emphasizing that the monster, by itself, has low attack power.
The は shows the contrast. It implies, while it may be weak alone, it could have a different role or power in another context.
And you can rephrase it with 下級 as follows.
単体では攻撃力の低い下級モンスター(or 下級のモンスター）でしかない。
If you want to leave the word 通常
下級の通常モンスターでしかない
thank you!
Anytime! ☺️
Hello! I’ve just came across your website via an Anki Card Pack mention. Your website looks like a great resource to learn Japanese. Having only dabbled in learning it, I wanted to know your opinion on two things.
1) Which is better, learning Kanji and Hiragana before or after learning how to speak Japanese? I’ve been debating on it since learning how to write seems a lot harder than learning how to speak it.
2) What do you think of Duolingo and such things in the aid of teaching someone Japanese?
Thank you and hope you two have a lovely day!
PS: Maggie is very cute. <3
Hi Dan
OK, here’s my advice
1) I know everybody has their preference and way of studying Japanese, and it depends on their goal, but if you are an absolute beginner, I would recommend learning hiragana/katakana and speaking at the same time, as it helps strengthen both speaking and reading skills together, even if you rely on romaji at the beginning to learn speech patterns. Once you’ve mastered hiragana/katakana, you can gradually start learning kanji.
2) I think Duolingo is a great tool for building up vocabulary and sentence structures. I would recommend you use it in your spare time as a helpful supplement to your studies.
And thank you! 😊
Have a lovely day too!
Good evening Maggie. In this sentence, is the dictionary form of 摘まれたら つまむ or つむ?
お腹摘まれたらこんな顔しそうですね。
And in this sentence is it つまむ or つむ?
妻ドラウパディーが求めた花を摘みに行ったビーマは。。。
Hello Rafael
お腹摘まれたらこんな顔しそうですね。
→the dictionary form つまむ = to pinch
妻ドラウパディーが求めた花を摘みに行ったビーマは。。。
→the dictionary form つむ = to pick (flowers/tea/fruits)
Hello Maggie sensei,
I have a question about these two sentences:
1. 私は日本の歴史に興味があります。
2. 私は日本の歴史に興味を持っている。
Especially with an abstract object such as 興味, what is #2 implying with 持っている, instead of あります?
The reason why I ask is that curious Japanese often ask me about what I am doing in Japan. So, it is a frequent topic. If there is a meaning difference between #1 and #2 then it might be useful for me. For example, does #2 put more emphasis on the personal interest, and #1 is a more neutral statement of fact?
Thanks.
Hi Michael
この間は、☕️有り難うございました！☺️
Does #2 put more emphasis on the personal interest, and #1 is a more neutral statement of fact?
→Yes, you are right!
They could be translated the same way, but
1) 私は日本の歴史に興味があります
= I’m interested in Japanese history.
It simply expresses your interest as a fact.
2) 私は日本の歴史に興味を持っている
= I have an interest in Japanese history.
It emphasizes that you actively hold this interest, so it sounds stronger than 1)
There are some untranslatable Japanese words/grammatical forms that I am finally beginning to get a feel for.
But, this is also true for any two languages. One word in language A does not always have an exact translation in language B. Sometimes you need an entire sentence in B to explain the meaning of one word in A.
You’re absolutely right! Every language has words and expressions that don’t have a direct equivalent in another, and that’s part of what makes language learning so fascinating.
Your interpretation of the difference between the two phrases is very accurate, which means you’re getting to know the nuanced differences.
Good afternoon Maggie, I have a question about the following sentence: 聖剣のアルトリアより合理的、かつ冷静になってはいるが、人間性は失われていない。
I would like to know the function of は in なってはいる and why not just use なっている.
Hi Pedro
You can say なっている as well. When you want to emphasize or highlight the contrast between different aspects, you add は.
2025年になりました。みなさん、明けましておめでとうございます。
今年もどうぞよろしくお願いします。🐶🩷
去年は大変お世話になりました。
Dear Michael
今年もよろしくお願いします。☺️