Grammar Info

N1 Lesson 5: 8/17

のなんのって

So much that, Extremely, Very

Structure Legend

Structure

Verb + のなんのって
[い]Adjective + のなんのって
[な]Adjective + + のなんのって

Details

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About のなんのって

のなんのって is a casual phrase that is used in spoken Japanese to indicate that the word before it is 'excessively (A)', or 'extremely (A)'. This structure consists of the case marking particle の, the pre-noun adjectival (なん)の 'what kind of', and って, an abbreviation of という 'to say'.
The literal meaning of 'and to say it's (A) or something' just indicates that something is so (A) that if it is not that then the speaker doesn't know what to call it.
This structure will be seen after い-Adjectives, な-Adjectives followed by な, and verbs.
  • あんな()せているのにあの(りょう)一人(ひとり)()べちゃうなんて、びっくりしたのなんのって
    I was extremely surprised that such a skinny guy could eat that amount of food all by himself.
  • 名古屋(なごや)(なつ)(あつ)のなんのって(そと)()瞬間(しゅんかん)シャツが(あせ)でびっしょりになるんだよ。
    It is so hot in Nagoya in the summer that the moment you step outside, your shirt will be drenched in sweat.
  • あの建物(たてもの)丈夫(じょうぶ)のなんのって去年(きょねん)あった深度(しんど)7の地震(じしん)までも()えたんだよ。
    That building is so sturdy that it even withstood last year's earthquake that measured 7 on the Japanese seismic scale.
のなんのって itself is a more condensed variation of ~の~ないのって, which has the same meaning, but has (A) appear in both the positive and negative for 'to say it's (A) or not (A), (B)', where (B) will usually be a phrase explaining the extent of (A). Occasionally (B) will be left unsaid, as ~の~ないのって itself is always used to mean 'extremely (A)'.
  • (かれ)()べる()ないのって、30(ぷん)で3キロも(にく)一人(ひとり)()べた。
    He eats so much that he ate 3 kg of meat in 30 minutes all by himself.
  • あのジェットコースターは大人(おとな)でも失神(しっしん)するほど(こわ)(こわ)ないのって
    That rollercoaster is so scary that even an adult would pass out.

Examples

  • A:「(つか)れた(かお)。」
    B:「昨日(きのう)騒音(そうおん)(ねむ)れなかったから、もう(ねむ)のなんのって・・・」

    A: 'You look tired!'
    B: 'I couldn't sleep yesterday because it was noisy, so I am already extremely sleepy…'

  • 友達(ともだち)日帰(ひがえ)旅行(りょこう)について(はな)、A:「で、(なか)がすいてなかった?」
    B:「そりゃ(なか)がすいたのなんのって一人(ひとり)(はん)(ばい)(たべ)べた。」

    Friends talking about a day trip, A: 'And then? Weren't you hungry?'
    B: 'I was extremely hungry. I ate three bowls of rice by myself!'

  • A:「(いま)()ったケーキどう()べてみたい。」
    B:「ケーキおいしいのなんのってもう完食(かんしょく)しちゃったほど。」

    A: 'How is the cake we bought today? I want to try.'
    B: 'It was so delicious (to the point) that I ate it all already.'

    When speaking about the past, のなんのって can be used with both non-past and past forms.

  • A:「田舎(いなか)どうだった?」
    B:「よかった(しず)のなんのって(むし)()()こえるとてもリラックスできた。」

    A: 'How was the countryside?'
    B: 'Great! It was so quiet that one could hear the insects chirping. I was really able to relax.'

  • あそこのエンジニアが下手(へた)クソでさ。修理(しゅうり)上手(うま)くないのなんのって修理(しゅうり)から一日(いちにち)()っただけでまた(こわ)れたんだ。」

    'That engineer is absolutely terrible (at his job). He is extremely unskillful! Only one day after 'repairs' it broke again.'

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のなんのって – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (3 in total)

  • wrt7MameLZE33wlmpCAV

    wrt7MameLZE33wlmpCAV

    About 1 year ago

    Can anyone help break down the Japanese here? I understand this is a phrase, but I’m having trouble figuring out what the distinct “words” are.

    The って seems obvious: I’m guessing that’s the casual quote particle. The first の also seems to be nominalizing? So then, なん is なに and the の after it is emphatic/interrogative?

    I could really use some help.

  • djcostcosamples

    djcostcosamples

    About 1 year ago

    I was just wondering this too!

    I found this answer on Stack Exchange: meaning - Why does ~なんてもんじゃない / ~のなんのって mean とても? - Japanese Language Stack Exchange

  • wrt7MameLZE33wlmpCAV

    wrt7MameLZE33wlmpCAV

    About 1 year ago

    Aw, man, I always forget about the Japanese Stack Exchange. Thanks for the reference.

    After reading the top answer there, I can’t believe that I actually parsed the syntax correctly. Even so, I couldn’t possibly have derived the right meaning from that alone.

    That explanation from Stack Exchange helped quite a bit.

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