Grammar Info
N5 Lesson 7: 11/13

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

Structure
Casual
Polite
[い]Adjective[く]+ ても + いい
[な]Adjective + でも + いい
Noun + でも + いい
[い]Adjective[く]+ ても + いい + です
[な]Adjective + でも + いい + です
Noun + でも + いい + です
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
Information
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)
  • お茶(ちゃ)冷(つめ)たてもいい
    Is it okay even if the tea is cold? (Would you prefer I heat it?)
  • 肉(にく)好(す)きでもいい
    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 .
  • 焼(や)きそばでもいいです
    Is it okay even if it is yakisoba?
  • これ食(た)べてもいい
    Is it okay if we eat this? (Is this one that is okay to eat?)
Slow Male
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高(たか)くてもいい
It is fine (even) if it’s expensive.
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何(なん)でもいいです
Anything is fine.
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誰(だれ)でもいい
Anyone is fine.
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Books
Marugoto Elementary 1 (A2) Rikai
Page 72
みんなの日本語 I
Page 98 [CH 15]
[DBJG] A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar
Page 471
Tae Kim's Japanese Grammar Guide
Page 145