IsaacDavid
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- 9 Jun 2019
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[Hello] を日本語で何と言えばいいですか. Translation: how do you say "hello" in japanese?. Why is used the conditional in this question?
Why the conditional is used?
- Thread starter IsaacDavid
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- 6 Mar 2003
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Because this is the standard grammatical pattern for this kind of thing.
If you start with the general case without asking the "what" question it might make more sense.
こんにちはと言えばいいです。→ It's good if you say "Konnichiha." (or, You should say "Konnichiha.")
お酒を飲めばいいです。→ It's good if you drink sake. (or, You should drink sake.)
Now consider the question with "what":
何を飲めばいいですか？ → What is good if I drink it? (i.e. what should I drink?)
何と言えばいいですか？ → What is good if I say it? (i.e. what should I say?)
[Hello] を日本語で何と言えばいいですか → What is good if I say 'Hello' in Japanese? (i.e. How do you say 'Hello' in Japanese?)
If you start with the general case without asking the "what" question it might make more sense.
こんにちはと言えばいいです。→ It's good if you say "Konnichiha." (or, You should say "Konnichiha.")
お酒を飲めばいいです。→ It's good if you drink sake. (or, You should drink sake.)
Now consider the question with "what":
何を飲めばいいですか？ → What is good if I drink it? (i.e. what should I drink?)
何と言えばいいですか？ → What is good if I say it? (i.e. what should I say?)
[Hello] を日本語で何と言えばいいですか → What is good if I say 'Hello' in Japanese? (i.e. How do you say 'Hello' in Japanese?)
- 27 Dec 2003
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Isaac,
I want to emphasize that this particular form of the Japanese conditional, the ～すればいい form, is often translated into English as "should".
（どう)すればいい（ですか？) (What) should (I do?)
Your example, 日本語で何と言えばいいですか, could be translated as "How (should) I say this in Japanese?" (which sounds strange in English).
Another example:
この本を読めばいいですか？ Should I read this book?
In addition, ～すればいい is often paired with the phase でしょう to mean "I wonder if I should…"
この本を読めばいいでしょうか。I wonder if I should read this book.
彼女にこれを上げばいいでしょうか。I wonder if I should give this to her.
Another example of the Japanese conditional which works the same as ～すればいい is "～ったらいい" (meaning "should").
どうしったらいいですか？ What should I do?
どうしったらいいでしょうか。 I wonder what should I do.
彼女にこれを上げったらいいでしょうか。I wonder if I should give this to her.
(I also think the ～すればいい form is more polite than the ったらいい form, but I am not sure about this. Let's see what other people say.)
I want to emphasize that this particular form of the Japanese conditional, the ～すればいい form, is often translated into English as "should".
（どう)すればいい（ですか？) (What) should (I do?)
Your example, 日本語で何と言えばいいですか, could be translated as "How (should) I say this in Japanese?" (which sounds strange in English).
Another example:
この本を読めばいいですか？ Should I read this book?
In addition, ～すればいい is often paired with the phase でしょう to mean "I wonder if I should…"
この本を読めばいいでしょうか。I wonder if I should read this book.
彼女にこれを上げばいいでしょうか。I wonder if I should give this to her.
Another example of the Japanese conditional which works the same as ～すればいい is "～ったらいい" (meaning "should").
どうしったらいいですか？ What should I do?
どうしったらいいでしょうか。 I wonder what should I do.
彼女にこれを上げったらいいでしょうか。I wonder if I should give this to her.
(I also think the ～すればいい form is more polite than the ったらいい form, but I am not sure about this. Let's see what other people say.)
Last edited:
IsaacDavid
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- 9 Jun 2019
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Thanks to all of you.
- 22 Feb 2008
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There is another similar expression "the dictionary form といい" (e.g. この本を読むといいです), but this expression is usually not used in a question, thus, お酒を飲むといいですか sounds a bit awkward.
As for ～たら conditional, It's "past form + ら", i.e., "What should I do?" is どうしたらいいですか. しったら means 知ったら, not the -tara conditional of する. Similarly, it's 上げたら for 上げる, not 上げったら.
As for ～たら conditional, It's "past form + ら", i.e., "What should I do?" is どうしたらいいですか. しったら means 知ったら, not the -tara conditional of する. Similarly, it's 上げたら for 上げる, not 上げったら.
