Grammar Info

N4 Lesson 4: 7/18

といいI hope, I wish, You should, It would be good

Structure

Verb + と + いい
［い］Adjective + と + いい
［な］Adjective + だ + と + いい
Noun + だ + と + いい


Wishing for others:
(Desired Outcome) Phrase + といい + ね

Wishing for oneself:
(Desired Outcome) Phrase + といい + なぁ
(Desired Outcome) Phrase + といい+んだ(1) + けど(2)

(1) のだ
(2) けれど、けども、けれども、が

Details

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    Standard

About といい

One of the regular uses of the と particle is to express 'if'. However, unlike some other structures (like なら, たら, and ば), と implies that the 'if' result of と is something that will definitely happen, or is a natural consequence of (A) happening. When combined with the い-Adjective いい, it means 'if (A), it would be good'.

This construction may be used with any phrase ending in a word in its standard form.

Because と expresses a 'certain' outcome, the 'good' in this grammar construction often sounds quite strong, leading to といい regularly being translated closer to 'I hope (A)', or 'I wish (A)'.

There are several situations in which this grammar point can be used to express that you are hoping something for yourself, or hoping something for someone else. This is primarily determined by the use of な, or んだけど (hoping for yourself), or ね (hoping for others/mutual benefit).

Caution

When this expression finishes with けど, けれども, or が, it can imply that there are some external factors that will make the desired result difficult to achieve.

  • 明日(あした)の朝(あさ)に荷物(にもつ)が届(とど)くといいんだけど。（今夜(こんや)から雪(ゆき)が降(ふ)るから配達(はいたつ)が大変(たいへん)そう）
    I hope my package arrives tomorrow morning. (However, it is going to start snowing tonight, so delivery seems like an issue)
  • 宝(たから)くじに当(あ)たるといいんだが。（一枚(いちまい)しか買(か)っていないから当(あ)たらないと思(おも)う）
    I hope I win the lottery. (But since I only bought one ticket, I don't think I will)

Examples

--:--

    試合(しあい)で勝(か)つといいですね。

    I hope that you can win the game.

    あなたはもっと果物(くだもの)を食(た)べるといいです。

    You should eat more fruit.

    楽(たの)しいといいんですが。

    I hope it is fun.

    あの選手(せんしゅ)が世界(せかい)一(いち)になるといい。

    I hope that athlete becomes the world's best.

    これからもどんどん強(つよ)くなるといいね。

    I hope that you can rapidly get stronger (from now).

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といい – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (13 in total)

  • matt_in_mito

    matt_in_mito

    You will often see a small ぁ at the end of a sentence like どうしようかなぁ - it gives the impression that the speaker is trailing off into thought.

  • natiiix

    natiiix

    I believe these small vowels at the end of a sentence are similar to using ～ or ー at the end of a sentence instead of a full stop. The sentence ends with a prolonged pronunciation of the last word, indicating an ongoing thought process or empathy of the writer/speaker.

    It’s kind of like phonetic spelling in English, where you intentionally mangle words to convey certain additional emotion in your writing.

  • MikkaT

    MikkaT

    Hi, what does this part mean? it is not clickable and it is the only example which uses a な in both parts of the sentence.

    image838×137 16.6 KB

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