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

  • 使用域

    一般

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.
  • 何(なに)があってもお互(たが)い助(たす)け合(あ)うのが友達(ともだち)というものだ。
    Helping each other no matter what is just what friends do.
  • 先輩(せんぱい)が着(つ)く10分(ぷん)前(まえ)に着(つ)く。それがマナーというものだ。
    Arriving 10 minutes before your senpai arrives. That is just manners.
  • どんなに疲(つか)れていても諦(あきら)めない。それがアスリートというものだ。
    Not giving up no matter how tired you are. That is my impression of an athlete.
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.
  • 何(なに)があっても泣(な)かない。それが男(おとこ)ってものだ！
    Not crying no matter what. That is my impression of a man!

Examples

  • 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).

  • 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.

  • 彼(かれ)が知(し)らない真実(しんじつ)を話(はな)すことが、親切(しんせつ)というものだ。

    My impression is that it is kind to talk to him about truths he does not know.

  • 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.

  • 毎日(まいにち)少(すこ)しずつしか進(すす)まない。それが撮影(さつえい)というものだ。

    I can only progress a little each day. That is my impression of what photography is.

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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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