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Koto where appropriate

Kriffix

Aspiring Manga-ka
6 Jan 2008
47
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Hey everyone, i was wondering about the word "koto" which i gather means "thing." and when a "no" comes before it means "the thing about".

The part i'm confused about is where it's appropriate to say "[no] koto". For example, in some manga i read it'll say something like...
"Yumi-chan no koto ga suki desu" (lol on the spot)
but why would you say that over simply "Yumi-chan ga suki desu"
also things like "Shumi wa tennis wo suru koto" over something like "Shumi wa tennis wo suru/shimasu".
what's the nuance in one over the other? how can you tell when to use koto?

I know this is probably a very basic question, but i can't find an answer online since everytime i search "koto" it comes up with the darn instrument!

Thanks very much🙂
 
Hey everyone, i was wondering about the word "koto" which i gather means "thing." and when a "no" comes before it means "the thing about".
The part i'm confused about is where it's appropriate to say "[no] koto". For example, in some manga i read it'll say something like...
"Yumi-chan no koto ga suki desu" (lol on the spot)
but why would you say that over simply "Yumi-chan ga suki desu"
also things like "Shumi wa tennis wo suru koto" over something like "Shumi wa tennis wo suru/shimasu".
what's the nuance in one over the other? how can you tell when to use koto?
I know this is probably a very basic question, but i can't find an answer online since everytime i search "koto" it comes up with the darn instrument!
Thanks very much🙂


Shumi wa tennis wo suru koto

Shumi wa tennis wo suru/shimasu

These two sentences essentially mean the same thing. The first one is something like "My hobby is doing tennis" and the second one is "My hobby is tennis". The Koto in this sense acts as whats called a "nominaliser". In other words the koto turns the verb into a noun. So therefore you can use the verb as the object or the subject. for example...

Tennis wo suru koto wa muzukashii ne...
Doing tennis is pretty hard

Anime wo miru koto ga ichiban daisuki da~!
I absolutely love watching anime!

As for "Yumi-chan no koto ga suki da" I can only speculate so I'll leave it to some other speakers to break it down for you.
 
They say that such "koto" in "Yumi-chan no koto ga suki desu" is used to clarify the direction of the emotion. If "no koto" is not there, the sentence "Yumi-chan ga suki desu" can also be interpreted Yumi-chan as the subject, like "Yumi-chan loves/likes (me or the other person/thing)" So this "koto" is basically used only for a person that can have the emotion.

友達のことがうらやましい。
Tomodachi no koto ga urayamashii.

家族のことが好きだ。
Kazoku no koto ga suki da.


On the other hand, "koto" in "shumi wa tennis wo suru koto desu" nominalizes the clause "tennis wo suru". In the "A wa B desu" sentence structure, when "A" is the noun, "B" also should be the noun.

趣味は読書です。
Shumi wa dokusho desu.
shumi; the noun
dokusho; the noun

趣味は本を読むことです。
Shumi wa hon wo yomu koto desu.
shumi; the noun
yomu; the verb (so you need to nominalize this word/clause.)

hope this helps:)
 
They say that such "koto" in "Yumi-chan no koto ga suki desu" is used to clarify the direction of the emotion. If "no koto" is not there, the sentence "Yumi-chan ga suki desu" can also be interpreted Yumi-chan as the subject, like "Yumi-chan loves/likes (me or the other person/thing)" So this "koto" is basically used only for a person that can have the emotion.
友達のことがうらやましい。
Tomodachi no koto ga urayamashii.
家族のことが好きだ。
Kazoku no koto ga suki da.
I've heard from a few Japanese people that inserting "XXX no koto ga suki" to them equals less direct and therefore less emotional/loving than "XXX ga suki." As if it were translated, "I love things about you" instead of "I love you." However odd it sounds in English. But then many speakers have really crazy (I should say, unique) 😌 ideas about their own language...so is it really that widespread a connotation ? Perhaps not.
 
I've heard from a few Japanese people that inserting "XXX no koto ga suki" to them equals less direct and therefore less emotional/loving than "XXX ga suki." As if it were translated, "I love things about you" instead of "I love you." However odd it sounds in English. But then many speakers have really crazy (I should say, unique) 😌 ideas about their own language...so is it really that widespread a connotation ? Perhaps not.
Right. "Koto" literally means "thing", but "Yumi-chan no koto" does not always mean "the things about Yumi-chan". "Koto" in this sentence simply indicates that "Yumi-chan" is the object of the na-adjective "suki".
It depends on the context, not the word itself, whether "koto" emphasize or weaken or doesn't change the meaning.
 
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