Why in the world

[letslearn]

Hi Guys,
Is my interpretation correct for the following?
( いったい 、 わたし は 、 北本 くん に どう 思わ れ て いる ん だろ う ? )

Why in the world do I care how I appear to kitamoto?

よろしくお願いいたします

 

[Mike Cash]

Where do you get the "do I care" part?

 

[Toritoribe]

And where did "why" come from?

 

[letslearn]

Where do you get the "do I care" part?

That's just the feeling I got from the sentence. I did not get it from a literal word.

 

[letslearn]

I

And where did "why" come from?

got the why part from the だろう？ I thought the character was questioning themselves

 

[Mike Cash]

I

got the why part from the だろう？ I thought the character was questioning themselves

Still, how do you get "why" from だろう? That isn't the only question word in English. What Japanese question word do you see in the sentence?

I think you may have read an explanation of いったい somewhere and maybe let the explanation color your interpretation more than necessary.

How would you interpret the sentence without いったい?

わたし は 、 北本 くん に どう 思わ れ て いる ん だろ う ?

Pay close attention to the grammar.

Edit:

Come to think of it.... try it without the だろう

わたし は 、 北本 くん に どう 思わ れ て いる ？

 

[letslearn]

Still, how do you get "why" from だろう? That isn't the only question word in English. What Japanese question word do you see in the sentence?

I think you may have read an explanation of いったい somewhere and maybe let the explanation color your interpretation more than necessary.

How would you interpret the sentence without いったい?

わたし は 、 北本 くん に どう 思わ れ て いる ん だろ う ?

Pay close attention to the grammar.

Edit:

Come to think of it.... try it without the だろう

わたし は 、 北本 くん に どう 思わ れ て いる ？

Thanks for your reply Mikesan
Lets make sure I'm getting this grammar correctly.
First things first.

The に used here is to mark the location or direction is that right?
How does the the topic ( 私 ) appear to 北本 くん　

 

[Mike Cash]

Thanks for your reply Mikesan
Lets make sure I'm getting this grammar correctly.
First things first.

The に used here is to mark the location or direction is that right?
How does the the topic ( 私 ) appear to 北本 くん　

I would associate it more with the use of the passive verb there, but I suppose it works thinking about it that way too.

 

[letslearn]

I would associate it more with the use of the passive verb there, but I suppose it works thinking about it that way too.

So with the わたし は 、 北本 くん に どう 思わ れ て いるん だろ う
I wonder In what way am I appearing to kitamoto ?
It sounds a bit like "I wonder if he knows it's me ?" because kitamoto is being curt with the character"

 

[Mike Cash]

So with the わたし は 、 北本 くん に どう 思わ れ て いるん だろ う
I wonder In what way am I appearing to kitamoto ?
It sounds a bit like "I wonder if he knows it's me ?" because kitamoto is being curt with the character"

"How am I thought of by Kitamoto?"

Awkward, but direct.

"What on earth must Kitamoto think of me!"

More natural.

He's being curt presumably because he's ticked off by something the speaker said or did and/or which he misunderstood.

 

[letslearn]

"How am I thought of by Kitamoto?"

Awkward, but direct.

"What on earth must Kitamoto think of me!"

More natural.

He's being curt presumably because he's ticked off by something the speaker said or did and/or which he misunderstood.

Thanks Mikesan.
どう 思わ れ て いる how am I thought of (in this case)
Like you always say, exposure exposure.

 

[Mike Cash]

Thanks Mikesan.
どう 思わ れ て いる how am I thought of (in this case)
Like you always say, exposure exposure.

No problem.

Things like passive and potential can be very easy to gloss over or even overlook entirely. Anytime you get snagged on something it might be a good idea to make "Am I missing a passive or potential here?" near the top of your troubleshooting process.

 

[Toritoribe]

The に used here is to mark the location or direction is that right?

に indicates the agent in a passive sentence.
active
泥棒が財布を盗んだ。
passive
財布が泥棒に盗まれた。

Thus, 北本くん is the agent/subject of 思う.
わたしは、北本くんにどう思われているんだろう　＝　北本くんは、私（のこと）をどう思っているのだろう