805 - というものは

JLPT N2: というものは

All of this という and って stuff starts to get old after a while, don't you think?

Slightly different patterns containing という and って show up in quite a few of our lessons.

A sampling:

[NDL #802] - JLPT N4: という ([NOUN] called...)
[NDL #804] - JLPT N3: というのは
[NDL #577] - JLPT N2: というものではない
[NDL #752] - JLPT N2: とは ([definitions])
[NDL #784] - JLPT N2: というものだ
[NDL #792] - JLPT N1: ~てからというもの(は)

Seems like overkill to me. But then, I guess that's better than underkill. (Is "underkill" a word? It should be.)

Anyway...

 

というものは is used when describing things with deep-felt emotion.

For example, a sentence like this sounds pretty flat:

家族いいものだ。
かぞく は いい もの だ。
Family is good.
Literally: “family + は + good + thing + だ.”


That sentence has more emotional weight when we say というものは instead of just

家族というものはいいものだ。
かぞく というものは いい もの だ。
There’s nothing like family.
Literally: “family + というものは + good + thing + だ.”


I was tempted to translate the above sentence as something like "Having family is a good thing" and put a note about how there would be extra stress on the "good thing" part... but that option didn't seem all that much better than "There's nothing like family."

As is often the case when a perfect English equivalent doesn't exist for a piece of Japanese... including the nuance of というものは in our translations is a challenge.

 

Did you pick up on our pattern already? It's:

NOUNというものは

 

More examples:

というものは一人では生きられない動物なんです。
ひと というものは ひとり で は いきられない どうぶつ なんです。
Man is a creature that cannot live without companionship [cannot live in isolation].
Literally: “person + というものは + by oneself / alone (=one person + で) + は + cannot live + animal + なんです.”


人生というものはなかなか思い通りにはなりませんね。
じんせい というものは なかなか おもいどおり に は なりません ね。
Life just never goes as planned, does it? // Life just doesn’t go exactly how we want it to, am I right?
Literally: “life + というものは + just (won’t) + as one wants / as one wishes + に + は + doesn’t become + ね.”

 

When the thing we are describing is not a NOUN, we'll see ということは instead.

In this case, the word before ということは just needs to be in plain form:

子供が産まれるということはおめでたいことだ。
こども が うまれる ということは おめでたい こと だ。
The birth of a child is a cause for celebration.
Literally: “child + が + be born + ということは + auspicious / happy (occasion) + thing + だ.”


仕事が忙しいということはありがたいことだと思っています。
しごと が いそがしい ということは ありがたい こと だ と おもっています。
I like to think that work being busy is something to be thankful for. // I consider work being busy something to be thankful for.
Literally: “work が + busy + ということは + welcome / evoking gratitude + thing + だ + と + am thinking.”

 

This may come as no surprise, but in informal speech, you can say ってものはってことは、or simply って

なんでも話せる友達がいるってほんとうに幸せなことだ。
なんでも はなせる ともだち が いる って ほんとう に しあわせな こと だ。
It’s wonderful having a friend that you can talk to about anything.
Literally: “anything + can talk + friend + が + have / there is + って + truly + happy + thing + だ.”

 

Straight and to the point, yeah? Like many of our N2 grammar topics.

The problem isn't so much that N2 grammar is complex... there's just oh-so much of it to learn.

ファイト!
Complete and Continue  
Discussion

0 comments