Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 4: 11/21

だってI heard/was said, Because, But, Even or also, Even if or even though

Used in casual language; has a childish/naive nuance

Structure

Noun + （なん） + だって
だって + Phrase

Details

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About だって

だって is a colloquial combination of the auxiliary verb だ, and the adverbial particle とて in Japanese (a combination of the particles と, and て). It has a wide range of uses, but primarily exclaims that something is the 'premise' for whatever has been said, or will be said next. This 'exclamation' is usually translated as 'I heard', 'cause', 'but', or 'even if'. The meaning that will be conveyed is determined primarily by where だって appears in a sentence.

When placed at the beginning of a sentence, だって highlights the speaker's (usually) displeasure about something that has just been said, before following it with an explanation or counterpoint. This だって is quite similar to でも.

At the end of a sentence, だって is used to express hearsay, in a similar way to 'I heard that', or 'it was said that', in English. In these cases it will be preceded by なん. なんだって always appears after a noun, or a phrase that has been nominalized (with の or こと).

Caution

When used directly after a noun, だって has a similar nuance to the だって that appears at the beginning of sentences (emphasizing what has come before it, in order to explain further). This comes across as でも, and may not be used with なん.

  • 俺(おれ)だって行(い)きたくないよ。
    Even I don't want to go.
  • そんなこと言(い)ったら、誰(だれ)だって傷(きず)つくよ。
    If you say something like that, anyone would get hurt.

Fun Fact

The adverbial particle とて itself is an abbreviation of expressions like と言(い)って, and と思(おも)って. だとて (the full construction) may also be used, but is almost always replaced by だって, as it is far easier to say.

Fun Fact

When used at the beginning of a sentence, もん or もの will often come at the end of that sentence, in order to strengthen the opinion given by the speaker. This is more commonly used by women and children.

  • 私(わたし)もそんなもの食(た)べたくないよ。だって、不味(まず)いもん。
    I also don't want to eat something like that. It's because it tastes bad.
  • 今日(きょう)は家(いえ)から出(で)ません。だって、今日(きょう)は暑(あつ)いもの。
    I am not going to leave my house today. Cause it is hot today.

Examples

--:--

    全員(ぜんいん)合格(ごうかく)だってよ。

    It is said that everyone had passed the exam.　

    だって、全然(ぜんぜん)知(し)らないんだもん。

    Because, I have no idea.

    彼(かれ)だって落(お)ち込(こ)むこともあるよ。

    Even he gets depressed from time to time.

    「たけしさん、海外旅行(かいがいりょこう)だって？」

    'Is it true (what I have heard) that Takeshi is on vacation abroad?'

    月(つき)にだって行(い)けるかもしれない。

    You can probably even go to the moon.

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だって – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (24 in total)

  • megatron0000

    megatron0000

    Got it. A hint would help though (“more casual than this”)

  • larrydeluca

    larrydeluca

    Example sentence question:

    父親だって、たまには<一人ひとりでのんびりしたいときもある。is what it says is the correct answer.

    But the help page says that I should have (なん) before a noun, and when I try that it says “try removing something from the front.”

    There are parentheses on the help page, but I’m confused because of the linkage between the noun and the expression.

  • Fuga

    Fuga

    Hey @larrydeluca !

    なん will be added between a noun and だって when it is used at the end of a sentence to express hearsay.

    Since this だって comes in the beginning of the sentence, adding なん would sound unnatural since this is not expressing hearsay.

    I hope this helps!

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