Grammar Info

N5 Lesson 9: 4/13

～てもいい (Verb)It's okay to, It's alright to, Can/may

Structure

Verb［て］+ も + いい

Details

  • Part of Speech

    Expression

  • Word Type

    Adjective

  • Register

    Standard

About Verb + てもいい

Verb + てもいい is a construction in Japanese used to express that something is 'okay', or 'alright'. It can also be used as a question to ask if you 'can', or 'may' do something.

This phrase is also regularly used without the も, but is considered a bit more direct/casual. It is best to remove the も only when talking to people that you know well.

This expression is simply a construction that literally means て (verb) も (also) いい (is good).

Caution

As this grammar point uses the て form of verbs, it is important to remember that some verbs will use で instead of て.

Examples

--:--

    これを見(み)てもいい？

    Is it alright if I look at this?

    質問(しつもん)をしてもいい？

    May I ask a question?

    暑(あつ)いです。水(みず)を飲(の)んでもいいですか。[飲(の)む]

    It’s hot. Is it alright to drink some water?

      暑(あつ)いです。水(みず)を飲(の)んでもいいですか。

      It's hot. Is it alright to drink some water?

      あそこで遊(あそ)んでもいいです。

      You may play over there.

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        Verb + てもいい – Grammar Discussion

        Most Recent Replies (21 in total)

        • Unlocked

          Unlocked

          The first example is:
          これを見てもいい？
          Which it says means “is it alright if I look at this?”. However, because the subject isn’t stated, could it also mean “can you look at this?” (as in asking for feedback on something or showing something off), or would that be strange?

        • ljoekelsoey

          ljoekelsoey

          In such a case you would say これを見てもらってもいい？which is far more natural.
          “Can i get you to look at this please?”

        • Unlocked

          Unlocked

          Thanks! Looks like that’s all the way up in N4, so it might have been a while before I reached it normally.

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