Grammar Info

N5 Lesson 8: 10/13

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

Structure

(Set of Elements) + (なか)一番(いちばん)
その(1) + (なか)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) (なか) (B) 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(なか)' 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(なか)一番(いちばん)() ()(もの)(なに)

    Among these, what is your number one favorite food?

    中華(ちゅうか)料理(りょうり)(なか)(なに)一番(いちばん)()です

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

    ()(もの)(なか)一番(いちばん)()のは(なん)です

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

    (ちゃ)(なか)一番(いちばん)美味(おい)のは(なん)です

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

    (くに)(なか)一番(いちばん)人口(じんこう)(おお)のはどれです

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

  • Get more example sentences!

    Premium users get access to 12 example sentences on all Grammar Points.

Self-Study Sentences

Study your own way!

Add sentences and study them alongside Bunpro sentences.

  • Online


    • Offline

        • [DBJG] A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar

          Page 148

        • Genki I

          Page 194

        • Genki I 2nd Edition

          Page 232

        • みんなの日本語 I

          Page 80 [CH 12]

      • Track Resources!

        Bunpro tracks all of the resources you’ve visited, and offers relevant bookmarks of physical books to help with offline tracking.

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

      Most Recent Replies (14 in total)

      • Jake

        Jake

        Out of all ~, ~ is the best/most ~.

        Structure

        • Category + の・中・で + qualifier + が・いちばん
        • Category + の・中・で・いちばん

        [out of some category, something is the most ~]

        View on Bunpro

      • Isurandil492

        Isurandil492

        Why is 中 left as a kanji while 一番 is converted to hiragana in the structure section? Just curious

      • mrnoone

        mrnoone

        No real reason

        I have changed it to kanji

        Sorry for (extremely) slow answer

      • mrnoone

        mrnoone

      • julian_s

        julian_s

        Hello, in this example sentence, BunPro gives 今いままでの変顔へんがお写真しゃしん の中なかで 、どれが好すき?

        But in the review question, it says the correct answer is の中に. Which is correct?

      • Pushindawood

        Pushindawood

        @julian_s Sorry about that! I have updated the review question to accept the correct answer (の中で). Cheers!

      • Invertex

        Invertex

        この中でいちばん 好きな食べ物は何?

        I’m not sure where the こ at the start comes from, as the grammar explanation doesn’t imply when this would happen. Is the example implying この is being used to refer to the subject (foods) being near us and thus the の from の中で is dropped/merged to avoid a double の?

        Or I guess maybe in a sense it just becomes another variation of これ, この, ここ, etc…?

      • mrnoone

        mrnoone

        @Invertex
        Hey and long time no see!

        Very good question!

        This is simply この.
        Basically, we have a noun 間, with particle で (間で), that has to be modified (qualified, described).

        When we modify (qualify, describe) noun with another noun we use particle の. (We look at の from a wider perspective now, not just indicating possession)

        So, 私の犬 means “my dog”. 私 modifies (qualifies, describes) 犬.
        [鶏のスープ means “chicken soup” (actually, チキンスープ is more common, just giving an example of modification)

        Notice that chicken in chicken soup works similar to adjective, it describes soup. We...

      • moggyishere

        moggyishere

        I’m confused as to why で is present in this grammar point. I don’t think I’ve seen it being used like this before? I can’t get my head around it.

      • mathijsdm

        mathijsdm

        I believe (but I’m no grammar guru myself, so take it with a grain of salt) that it is the で for Components. So の中で is <possessive> + 中 (among / within) + で (for components as it is among all the components, the best one).

        Very badly explained, but this was my interpretation. Hopefully someone else will still come along to give you a clearer answer or tell you if my interpretation was wrong!

      • FredKore

        FredKore

        On that same page, the next section で for Categories actually calls out this grammar point.

      • mathijsdm

        mathijsdm

        Haha, damn should have re-read the article instead of just linking it because I knew it existed Thanks for the correction, much appreciated!

      • 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.

        動物どうぶつなか一番いちばんきな動物どうぶつなんですか。
        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!

      Got questions about のなかで~がいちばん~? Join us to discuss, ask, and learn together!

      Join the Discussion