Grammar Info

N2 Lesson 7: 10/21

と言(い)うものだSpeaker's impression, Criticism or conclusion

No Negative or Past Form

Structure

Phrase + というものだ

Details

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    Standard

  • Rare Kanji

    物

About というものだ

というものだ is a fairly strong expression in Japanese that indicates that the speaker has the impression that (A) is the way it is, based on their objective judgment. This is usually translated as 'my impression of (A) is that'. However, the more literal translation is closer to '(A) is just a thing that'. This emphasizes that the speaker has high certainty that what they are saying (based on their experience) is the true nature of (A) in most cases.

というものだ is constructed of という, the noun 物(もの) 'thing', and だ. It will be seen at the end of phrases that the speaker or writer is making a judgment about.

As this grammar pattern is quite direct, it is often used when criticizing something. However, this is not always the case, so will need to be judged based on context.

Caution

In casual conversation, という may be shortened simply to って, without any change in meaning.

Examples

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    その言(い)い分(ぶん)はわがままというものだ。

    My impression is that your complaint is selfish.

    あなたの好(す)き嫌(きら)いは食(く)わず嫌(ぎら)いというものだ。

    My impression is that your likes and dislikes are prejudiced (dislike without trying).

    嘘(うそ)はつかない。それがジャーナリストというものだ。

    Not telling lies. That is my impression of what a journalist is.

    楽(たの)しくないと意味(いみ)がない。それがサークルというものだ。

    If it isn't fun, it is pointless. That is my impression of club sports.

    彼(かれ)はいつも結果(けっか)を出(だ)す。あれが実力(じつりょく)というものだ。

    He always gets results. That is my impression of competency.

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      というものだ – Grammar Discussion

      Most Recent Replies (1 in total)

      • s1212z

        s1212z

        There are a couple meanings to this grammar point it seems. The readings for JLPT sensei connect to meaning of “something like; something called~”; not opinion/impression like the entry.

        japanesetest4you has this as the primary entry as well for N2, so not sure what is the primary entry for N2 learners (or both) but I couldn’t find any links like the BP entry.

        Edit: I see now this is more of a translation choice rather than a different grammar point (except for the first entry example: これがいわゆる「てんぷら」というものです). The outside examples don’t give a sense these are impressions but BunPro does (but I see it’s the same).

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