Grammar Info

N5 Lesson 7: 11/13

~てもいい

It is alright/fine/okay even if, Can/may, ~ is also okay

Structure

[い]Adjective[く]+ ても + いい
[な]Adjective + でも + いい
Noun + でも + いい

Details

  • Part of Speech

    Expression

  • Word Type

    Adjective

  • Register

    Standard

  • 品詞

    表現

  • 単語の種類

    形容詞

  • 使用域

    一般

About てもいい

Noun, い-Adjective, or な-Adjective + てもいい is a construction in Japanese that is used to express that something is 'okay', or 'alright'. It is also frequently used as a question to ask if you 'can', or 'may' do something.
  • 電車(でんしゃ)でもいい
    I am fine even if it is by train. (It does not need to be by car)
  • (ちゃ)(つめ)てもいい
    Is it okay even if the tea is cold? (Would you prefer I heat it?)
  • (にく)()でもいい
    It is okay even if you like meat. (I won't force you to eat something vegetarian)
As can be seen, with い-Adjectives, we will need to use the conjugation form. This is created by removing the い and then replacing it with く.
This phrase is also regularly used without the , but is considered a bit more direct/casual in those cases. It is best to remove the only when talking to people that you know well.
てもいい is an expression that literally means (noun, etc) (also) いい (is good).
Similarly to the てもいい grammar point that is used with verbs, this variant may also be used as a question. To do this, you simply need to follow てもいい with です, or the more casual .
  • ()きそばでもいいです
    Is it okay even if it is yakisoba?
  • これ()てもいい
    Is it okay if we eat this? (Is this one that is okay to eat?)

Examples

  • (たか)てもいい

    It is fine (even) if it's expensive.

  • (なん)でもいいです

    Anything is fine.

  • (だれ)でもいい

    Anyone is fine.

  • 水曜日(すいようび)でもいいです

    Is it fine (even) if it is (on) Wednesday?

  • (つめ)たくてもいい

    It is fine (even) if it is chilled.

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てもいい – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (6 in total)

  • Shinzo

    Shinzo

    About 3 years ago

    @mrnoone: Thank you and yes, I agree.

  • Daigo

    Daigo

    About 2 years ago

    たかてもいい
    What is the reason for changing the い for く in 高い ?
    Isn’t it changed only to form negative sentences?

  • FredKore

    FredKore

    About 2 years ago

    That’s the correct pattern.
    Here’s the positive and negative conjugations of い-adjectives.
    高い → 高くて
    高くない → 高くなくて
    Adjective[て]・Noun[て] | Japanese Grammar SRS
    なくて | Japanese Grammar SRS

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