Grammar Info

N5 Lesson 8: 10/13

の中(なか)で～が一番(いちばん)Out of ~, ~ is the best/most ~

Structure

(Set of Elements) + の中(なか)で一番(いちばん)
その(1) + 中(なか)で一番(いちばん)

(1) この

Details

  • Part of Speech

    Expression

  • Word Type

    Adjective / Adjectival Noun

  • Register

    Standard

About のなかで～がいちばん～

In Japanese '(A) の中(なか)で (B) が一番(いちばん) (C)', is a regular expression that is used for showing that something is 'the most (C)', usually an adjective. This structure can be used with almost any adjective, whether it is positive or negative. Each part of this grammar point represents the following:

(A) - A group.

(B) - A single thing/person within that group.

(C) - An adjective, or general description of that thing/person.

This expression is also frequently used with demonstratives such as この and その.

The construction '(A) の中(なか)で' is regularly translated by itself as 'among (A)', and may be used in many different expressions. This will be covered in a separate grammar point.

Examples

--:--

    この中(なか)で一番(いちばん)好(す)きな 食(た)べ物(もの)は何(なに)？

    Among these, what is your number one favorite food?

    中華(ちゅうか)料理(りょうり)の中(なか)で何(なに)が一番(いちばん)好(す)きですか。

    Out of all Chinese dishes, what is your number one favorite dish?

    飲(の)み物(もの)の中(なか)で一番(いちばん)好(す)きなのは何(なん)ですか。

    Out of all drinks, what is your number one favorite drink?

    お茶(ちゃ)の中(なか)で一番(いちばん)美味(おい)しいのは何(なん)ですか。

    Out of all teas, what is the number one most delicious tea?

    国(くに)の中(なか)で一番(いちばん)人口(じんこう)が多(おお)いのはどれですか。

    Out of all countries, which country has the number one largest population?

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        • Genki I 2nd Edition

          Page 232

        • みんなの日本語 I

          Page 80 [CH 12]

        • [DBJG] A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar

          Page 148

        • Genki I

          Page 194

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      のなかで～がいちばん～ – Grammar Discussion

      Most Recent Replies (14 in total)

      • doublesbrian

        doublesbrian

        I just got to this grammar point. In the information it says

        In Japanese ‘(A) の中で (B) が一番 (C)’, is a regular expression that is used for showing that something is ‘the most (C)’, usually an adjective.

        And that’s the layout I’ve been seeing, but the first sentence I got in the quiz is a bit different.

        動物どうぶつの中なかで一番いちばん好すきな動物どうぶつは何なんですか。
        Out of all animals, what is your number one favorite animal?

        It threw me for a loop because it doesn’t have the (B) が portion of the structure I’m used to and I didn’t realize you can put のなかで and いちばん together like that.

        In my mind the sentence would be closer to 動物の中で何が一番好きですか

        Can someone explain the nuances of the sentence structure Bunpro used? Because I don’t really understand it.

        Thanks!

      • Daru

        Daru

        Hey @doublesbrian!

        It’s basically because 一番 is working as an adverb that modifies the following adjective here.

        高い Expensive → 一番高い The most expensive
        大きい Big → 一番大きい The biggest
        好き Likeable → 一番好き The most likeable (or, your favorite!)

        [動物の中で] Out of all the animals
        [一番好きな動物] The most likeable animal
        [は] Speaking of this (the most likeable animal out of all the animals)
        [何ですか？] Which one is it?

      • doublesbrian

        doublesbrian

        Thanks for the reply! I knew the way the site was using it was probably more natural but didn’t understand it until you broke it down for me! I appreciate it!

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