The other day, in our Flying Witch lessons (1, 2, and 3), I mentioned that, though I rarely watch anime, I do study them with Anki flashcards quite a bit.

Well, today I was looking at a show called Trinity Seven, and in the span of a single conversation, a phrase that I never use came up three times:

いいじゃないか？
Who cares? // What's wrong with that?
Literally: "good + isn't it + か？"

Here are the three places it showed up:

*Note: Though there is a question mark for the Japanese in the images, please disregard it. That was a transcription error. (My bad. _(-_-)_)

(Audio)

いいじゃないか。
What's the problem?
Literally: "good + is not + か。"

---

(Audio)

まあ、いいじゃないか。
What's the problem?
Literally: "well, + good + is not + か。"

---

(Audio)

なんか凄そうでいいじゃないか。
なんか　すごそう　で　いいじゃないか。
Hey, it sounds cool, so who cares?
Literally: "somehow / like + seems amazing + で + good + is not + か"

---

Why I never use this phrase.

Well, for three reasons:
1) It can sound way too casual in many cases.
2) It can sound really lame in many cases.
3) I'm not 100% confident that I can say it without sounding too casual or lame myself.

But yeah, it can be pulled off in some cases.

So let's take a look at a few examples...

*Note: For these examples, I'll just be writing "who cares" for the literal translation of いいじゃないか. But let's remember that this phrase is a combination of いい, "good" + じゃな (=じゃない), "isn't it?" + か, the question marking particle.

---

男がメイクしたっていいじゃないか。
おとこ　が　メイク　したって　いいじゃないか。
Who cares if I guy wears makeup? // What's wrong with a guy wearing makeup?
Literally: "man / guy + が + makeup + did + って + who cares."

---

A：
子供の泣き声うるさい！
こども　の　なきごえ　うるさい！
That crying kid is so annoying.
Literally: "child + の + crying voice + noisy / annoying!"

B：
いいじゃないか、子供は泣くのが仕事だろ。
いいじゃないか、 こども　は　なく　のが　しごと　だろ。
Who cares? It's a kid's job to cry.
Literally: "who cares? + child + は + cry + のが + job / work + だろ."

---

A：
今日飲みに行こうぜ！
きょう　のみにいこう　ぜ！
Let's go drinking today [tonight]!
Literally: "today + let's go drinking + ぜ (=strong, casual particle for emphasis)！"

B：
え〜、明日早いんだよなー。
え～、 あした　はやい　んだよなー。
Drinking? I have to get up early tomorrow...
Literally: "Hmm?? + tomorrow + early + んだよなー."
Note: The なー makes it sound like he's talking to himself (see Lesson #51), but this ん indicates that there is a reason he is saying this (=he doesn't want to go drinking). For more about this ん, maybe check out this article.

A：
いいじゃないか、おごるからさ。
いいじゃないか、 おごる　から　さ。
Who cares? It'll be my treat.
Literally: "who cares? + treat (to food) + because + さ."

---

---

So what do I use if I never say いいじゃないか...？

Well, usually I just say いいじゃん, which can mean the same thing (though it's a much more versatile phrase).For example:

たまにはサボッてもいいじゃん。
たまに　は　サボっても　いい　じゃん。
Who cares if you skip work [school] every once in a while?
Literally: "sometimes + は + even if skip school [work] + good + isn't it?"

---

A：
国語のノート写させて！
こくご　の　ノート　うつさせて！
Let me copy your Japanese notes!
Literally: "Japanese (language) / national language + の + notes [=notebook] + let (me) transcribe / duplicate!"
Note: This 国語 is "Japanese" the way that we say "English" for language and literature courses. It's not 日本語 (にほんご), which is the Japanese that you, as a non-Japanese person, study.

B：
またー？
Again?

A：
いいじゃん、減るもんじゃあるまいし。
いいじゃん、 へるもんじゃあるまいし。
What's the big deal? It's not hurting anyone. [It's not making any difference.]
Literally: "who cares? + it's no big deal."
Note: 減るもんじゃあるまいし is a set phrase meaning something along the lines of "It's no big deal" or "It's not anything to get worked up about." I've heard it used in everyday Japanese a number of times... but I've yet to find it in a dictionary. *_*

---

---

Oh yeah, and both いいじゃないか and いいじゃん can mean "Nice/Cool [shirt, hair, pants, etc.].

その髪型いいじゃないか。
その　かみがた　いいじゃないか。
Nice hairstyle! // Cool hair!
Literally: "that + hairstyle + is good, isn't it + か？"

その髪型いいじゃん！
その　かみがた　いいじゃん！
Nice hairstyle! // Cool hair!
Literally: "that + hairstyle + is good, isn't it？"

---

---

Now, some of you may be thinking--I can't use any of these words! This is all too confusing.

Well, friend, I have one thing to say to you:

いいじゃないか。
Who cares?!

Worrying about how you're not good enough at something just makes you learn it more slowly. Enjoy what you can understand and look forward to understanding the things you can't understand. ^^