Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 6: 24/24

で言(い)うとIn, Of, According to

Lit. “if you were to say... in (terms of)/as”

Structure

Noun + で言(い)うと

Details

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About で言うと

でいうと is an expression in Japanese that is commonly used to ask questions, or to give information about how one thing corresponds with another. It is a combination of the case marking particle で meaning 'with', and 言(い)うと meaning 'if said', or 'if we say'.

This structure will be seen after nouns, and can be translated as 'if said with (A), (B)'.

でいうと will often be seen in sentences with に当(あ)たる 'to be equivalent to', another common grammar structure used for drawing connections between things.

Fun Fact

一言(ひとこと)で言(い)うと is a set expression that means 'to put it in a word', 'in short', or 'to sum up'.

  • 一言(ひとこと)で言(い)うと彼(かれ)とはもう会(あ)わないことにした。
    To sum it up, I have decided to never see him again.

Examples

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    統計(とうけい)で言(い)うと、客(きゃく)の７０％(ななじゅっパーセント)が観光客(かんこうきゃく)だ。

    According to statistics, 70% of customers are tourists. (speaking of)

    この年(とし)をとっていそうな猫(ねこ)は人間(にんげん)の年齢(ねんれい)で言(い)うと８４(はちじゅうよん)歳(さい)ぐらいです。

    This old-looking cat is about 84 years old in human years. (in terms of)

    つまり、「hmmm」は日本語(にほんご)で言(い)うと「うーん」に当(あ)たります。

    To sum up, 'Hmm' corresponds to 'うーん' in Japanese. (in terms of)

    わかりやすい言葉(ことば)で言(い)うと俺(おれ)は上司(じょうし)だが、君(きみ)は部下(ぶか)だ。

    To put it in simple words, I am the superior and you are the subordinate. (in terms of)

    「I am batman」って日本語(にほんご)で言(い)うとどうなる？

    What is 'I am batman' in Japanese? (in terms of)

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で言うと – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (3 in total)

  • homa

    homa

  • qazrt

    qazrt

    I thought this sentence was bizarre as well. However, it makes sense: for example, for humans, the short-term memory is like, in computer terms, like RAM.

    Maybe the Bunpro master should add more context?

  • homa

    homa

    Oh, that’s smart!

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