Grammar Info

N4 Lesson 4: 7/18

といいI hope, I wish, You should, It would be good

Structure

Verb + + いい
[い]Adjective + + いい
[な]Adjective + + + いい
Noun + + と + いい


Wishing for others:
(Desired Outcome) Phrase + いい +

Wishing for oneself:
(Desired Outcome) Phrase + いい + なぁ
(Desired Outcome) Phrase + いい+んだ(1) + けど(2)

(1) のだ
(2) けれどけどもけれども

Details

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    Standard

About といい

One of the regular uses of the particle is to express 'if'. However, unlike some other structures (like なら, たら, and ), implies that the 'if' result of is something that will definitely happen, or is a natural consequence of (A) happening. When combined with the い-Adjective いい, it means 'if (A), it would be good'.

This construction may be used with any phrase ending in a word in its standard form.

Because expresses a 'certain' outcome, the 'good' in this grammar construction often sounds quite strong, leading to といい regularly being translated closer to 'I hope (A)', or 'I wish (A)'.

There are several situations in which this grammar point can be used to express that you are hoping something for yourself, or hoping something for someone else. This is primarily determined by the use of な, or だけど (hoping for yourself), or (hoping for others/mutual benefit).

Caution

When this expression finishes with けど, けれども, or , it can imply that there are some external factors that will make the desired result difficult to achieve.

  • 明日(あした)(あさ)荷物(にもつ)(とど)といいだけど。(今夜(こんや)から(ゆき)()から配達(はいたつ)大変(たいへん)そう)
    I hope my package arrives tomorrow morning. (However, it is going to start snowing tonight, so delivery seems like an issue)
  • (たから)くじに()たるといいんだが。(一枚(いちまい)しか()っていないから()たらないと(おも)う)
    I hope I win the lottery. (But since I only bought one ticket, I don't think I will)

Examples

--:--

    試合(しあい)()といいです

    I hope that you can win the game.

    あなたもっと果物(くだもの)()といいです

    You should eat more fruit.

    (たの)といいですが

    I hope it is fun.

    あの選手(せんしゅ)世界(せかい)(いち)になといい

    I hope that athlete becomes the world's best.

    これからどんどん(つよ)くなといいね。

    I hope that you can rapidly get stronger (from now).

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      といい – Grammar Discussion

      Most Recent Replies (13 in total)

      • Pushindawood

        Pushindawood

        I hope
        I wish
        you should

        Structure

        • Wishing for others/inside group :
          Desired Outcome + といい + です + ね
          Desired Outcome + といい + ね
        • Wishing for oneself :
          Desired Outcome + といい + なぁ
          Desired Outcome + といい + ん/の + です + が
          Desired Outcome + といい + ん/の + だ + けど

        If といい means “to hope” the verb has to be non-controllable , or controllable but in potential form .

        Controllable verb:
        帰るといい - You should go back home
        帰れるといいね - I hope you can come home.

        Non-controllable verb:
        雨が降らないといいね - I hope it won’t rain.
        [Cannot be used to give advice]

      • xBl4ck

        xBl4ck

      • Pushindawood

        Pushindawood

        @xBl4ck Nice spot! We recently got the Japanese for this sentence updated and forgot to fix the translation. Cheers!

      • deltacat3

        deltacat3

        楽しいといいんですが。
        I hope it is fun.

        Whats が doing at the end of this sentence?

      • matt_in_mito

        matt_in_mito

        The が at the end of the sentence implies that the speaker gets the feeling that it might not be fun.

      • deltacat3

        deltacat3

        Ahhhh! I see how that’s working. The implied omission insinuates the speakers reluctance, hesitance, etc… Thank you! @matt_in_mito

      • matt_in_mito

        matt_in_mito

        Japanese is a very high-context language and you have to read between the lines all the time. This is a prime example of that.

      • Johnathan-Weir

        Johnathan-Weir

        20210106_175348.jpg812×458 40 KB
      • shary

        shary

        I don’t know if this has been reported before, but isn’t this point (といい) a duplicate of the grammar point https://bunpro.jp/grammar_points/212 (covers both といい and たらいい) ?

        If not, what’s the difference?

      • Howl_UK

        Howl_UK

        There is a Japanese Ammo video for this grammar point. I’m adding these links to each grammar discussion as I find them so let me know if this is annoying!

      • testing

        testing

        What is なぁ? Is that a small あ on purpose?

      • matt_in_mito

        matt_in_mito

        You will often see a small ぁ at the end of a sentence like どうしようかなぁ - it gives the impression that the speaker is trailing off into thought.

      • natiiix

        natiiix

        I believe these small vowels at the end of a sentence are similar to using ~ or ー at the end of a sentence instead of a full stop. The sentence ends with a prolonged pronunciation of the last word, indicating an ongoing thought process or empathy of the writer/speaker.

        It’s kind of like phonetic spelling in English, where you intentionally mangle words to convey certain additional emotion in your writing.

      • MikkaT

        MikkaT

        Hi, what does this part mean? it is not clickable and it is the only example which uses a な in both parts of the sentence.

        image838×137 16.6 KB

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