One of the most common struggles I had as a beginner was trying to fit simple English expressions into Japanese. There are so many set expressions that are a direct translation from English. However, I always ran into trouble when I wanted to say “I hope~.”

Now in Japanese, there are a few verbs that mean “to hope” like 望む（のぞむ）or 希望する（きぼうする）. Unfortunately these have a connotation of “a deep desire for something, a dream, or a wish.”

So when you just want to say that you hope it doesn’t rain for the ballgame, these words are a little too heavy.

In Japanese, the simplest way to say “to hope” is using the conditional と and adding the word いい meaning “good.”
In effect, you are saying “if X, that would be good.”

It might sound a little weird, but this expression is used almost exactly like “I hope” in English.

For example:

第一志望の大学に入学できるといいですね。
だいいちしぼう　の　だいがく　に　にゅうがく　できる　と　いい　です　ね。
I hope you get accepted into your top university pick.
Literally: “number 1 + wish + の + university + に + enter school + can do + と + good + ですね.”

早くよくなるといいですね。
はやく　よく　なる　と　いい　です　ね。
I hope you get better soon.
Literally: “soon + good + become + と+ good + です + ね."

ポケモンをたくさんゲットできるといいね！
ポケモン　を　たくさん　ゲット　できる　と　いい　ね！
I hope you catch a lot of Pokemon!
Literally: “Pokemon + を + many + get + と + good + ね.”
Note: The word for “catching” Pokemon comes from the English word “get.” Which is why it is written in katakana. You can also use ゲットする for scoring points in a sports game.

If you have a slightly low expectation that the thing you are hoping for will come true, then you can add ～んだけど to the end of ～といい.

For example:

明日、晴れるといいんだけど。
あした、はれる　と　いいん　だけど。
I hope tomorrow will be sunny.
Literally: “tomorrow + be sunny + と + good + んだけど.”

If you're talking about yourself, putting な instead of ね after ～といい is common:

終電に間に合うといいな。
しゅうでん　に　まにあう　と　いい　な。
I hope I can catch the last train.
Literally: “last train + に + make in time + と + good + な.”

ポケモンGOのジムリーダーになれるといいな。
ぽけもんごー　の　じむりーだー　に　なれる　と　いい　な。
I hope I become the Pokemon Go Gym Leader.
Literally: “Pokemon Go + の + Gym Leader + に + can become + と+ good + な.”

If you take a look at all of the above sentences, they are all positive. Meaning you hope something does happen. If you want to create a negative sentence, one where you wish something doesn’t happen, there are a few ways to do this. First of all, you can just make the verb before といい, a negative verb, like so:

道に迷わないといいんですが。
みち　に　まよわない　と　いいん　ですが。
I hope I don’t get lost. // I hope he/she doesn't get lost.
Literally: “road + に + don’t get lost + と + good + んですが.”

Or you can use a different conditional (other than と). The most common is なければ which means “if it doesn’t.” For example:

旅行中に地震が起こらなければいいな。
りょこうちゅう　に　じしん　が　おこらなければ　いい　な。
I hope there isn’t an earthquake during my trip.
Literally: “during a trip + に + earthquake + が + if it doesn’t occur + good + な.”

邪魔になってなければいいんだけど。
じゃま　に　なってなければ　いい　んだけど。
I hope we're not interrupting them.
Literally: “intrusion + に + if are not becoming + good + んだけど."

If you add ～のに to the end, the meaning becomes "wish" instead of "hope."

This ～のに is often added to sentences when you wish something weren't true. The direct translation is "although; but."

みんなポケモンGOなんてやらなければいいのに。
みんな　ぽけもんごー　なんて　やらなければ　いい　のに。
I wish everybody didn't play Pokemon Go.
Literally: “everyone + Pokemon Go + なんて + if they didn't do + good + のに.”
Note: For instance, a kid might say this if all of his friends have a smartphone and are playing, but he doesn't.

PSA: Don't Pokemon and Drive!

This lesson was written by Cassy L., a guest contributor: