Table of Contents
The Basics
〜という is a combination of the quotation marker と and the verb 言う (to say). So at its most basic use, it can be used to mark what someone says, like:
- 日本人はよく「かわいい」と言う。
- Japanese people often say "kawaii" (cute).
In this use, 言う is usually written in kanji.
〜という can also be used as a phrase, usually written in kana, indicating that what it's marking is hearsay.
To say, for example, that you heard your old friend named Takashi is working as lawyer, you can say:
- タカシは弁護士をしているという。
- I heard that Takashi is working as a lawyer.
- 弁護士の仕事はかなり忙しいという。
- I heard that being a lawyer is a really busy job.
It's worth noting that 〜という is a little stiff. The two examples above sound more like a written narrative than anything you'd say in person. For speaking, it's more common to use 〜らしい or 〜んだって, as in:
- タカシは弁護士をしているらしい。
- I heard that Takashi is working as a lawyer.
- 弁護士の仕事はかなり忙しいんだって。
- I heard that being a lawyer is a really busy job.
So far, so good?
Apart from this use, 〜という has so many other functions. Let's move on and take a look at them!
〜という for "What Someone/Something Is Called"
〜という can be used to mark the name of someone or something. In this case, it doesn't mean hearsay or what people say, but it indicates what people call something.
When you meet someone new, for example, you might ask their name and they might respond in the following manner.
- お名前は何というんですか。
- What's your name?
(Literally: What is your name called?)
- 山田といいます。よろしくお願いします。
- I'm Yamada. Nice to meet you.
(Literally: I'm called Yamada. Nice to meet you.)
As you can see, 〜という becomes 〜といいます in the second sentence. いう is a verb that can conjugate and it's taking the polite ます form here. If you aren't familiar with what verb conjugations are, check out this page!
Also, it's worth remembering that 〜という is a quite formal expression. If you want to sound more casual, use 何ていう when asking and 〜っていう for telling.
Similarly, 〜という can also mark the meaning of a word in a different language. For instance, when asking how to say "cat" in Japanese, you might say:
- Catは日本語で何といいますか。
- What is the Japanese word for "cat"?
(Literally: What do you say for "cat" in Japanese?)
And your teacher might answer you while omitting the bit that's clear from the context:
- (Catは日本語で)ネコといいます。
- Cat is "neko" in Japanese.
(Literally: We call cats "neko" in Japanese.)
In this case, 〜という also indicates what people call the word in the specified language.
We've seen that 〜という by itself can be used for simple restatements — hearsay, reported speech, saying what something or someone is called, and so on. But in order to give longer definitions for words or concepts, you'll have to combine it with 意味 (meaning) to get 〜という意味.
If you want to explain what 猫派 (cat lover) means, for example, you can use 〜という意味 and say
- 「猫派」とは、犬より猫が好きという意味です。
- "Nekoha" means you like cats more than dogs.
Depending on context, you could also replace 意味 here with another noun like たとえ (metaphor, example), 言葉 (word), and so on. This makes 〜という really versatile! It also leads us right to our next section, where we’ll look more closely at how という can be used for describing and modifying nouns. Let's go!
〜という〜 for "Describing The Following Noun"
In the preceding section, you saw that 〜という can mark an explanation of something by attaching to another word, like 〜という意味. This is similar to saying "the meaning that…" in English.
This is called a "relative clause," and the part marked by 〜という modifies the noun that comes right after it. In other words, you can use 〜という to describe whatever noun you put it in front of.
For example, if you want to specify the name of a flower, you can put the name before 〜という and add the noun 花 (flower) after it, like:
- これは、パンジーという花です。
- This is a flower (that's) called a pansy.
If you read an article that says pansies are edible, you can put the content of the article before 〜という and 記事 (article), like:
- パンジーは食べれるという記事を読みました。
- I read an article that says pansies can be eaten.
〜という is usually used like this when describing something that has been "said" or reported, like in a 記事 (article), 噂 (rumor) or 話 (story). However, when describing an event or activity like イベント (event), パーティー (party), 仕事 (work), or 事件 (incident), 〜という can be omitted.
- パンジーを食べる（という）イベントに参加しました。
- I participated in an event where you eat pansies.
- でも、イベントのパンジーが盗まれる（という）事件が起きました。
- But, there was an incident in which the event's pansies were stolen.
I hope they capture the thief so folks can finally eat those pansies!
〜ということ or 〜というの
〜という often preceeds こと, which basically means "thing" for intangible, abstract things — knowledge, events, experiences, and many others. Thus, you can use 〜ということ (or its casual 〜ってこと) to specify the content of such intangible things.
For example, if you know that pansies are edible flowers, you can mark this piece of information with 〜ということ.
- パンジーが食べられる花だということは知っている。
- I know that pansies are edible flowers.
In this case, こと can also be replaced with the nominalizer の.
- パンジーが食べられる花だというのは知っている。
- I know that pansies are edible flowers.
You can also use 〜ということ to mark the meaning, summary, or interpretation of a word, phrase, or situation.
Assume you're at a garden center, admiring lovely pansies with a 食用 label on them. You're pretty sure 食用 means "edible," but you want to double-check that it actually means "edible." So you ask a worker:
- このパンジーは食べられるということですか？
- Does this mean these pansies are edible?
In this example, 〜ということ indicates that you're marking your interpretation or meaning from the label 食用. In the form of 〜ということです, repacing こと with の changes the nuance. That is, こと is neutral while の emphasizes your surprise. So if you said このパンジーは食べられるのですか？ it would come off as if you were surprised by the "edible" label on the pansies.
To show the logic of your inference more clearly, you can also mark the basis of your inference or reasoning with 〜ということ and say:
- 食用ということは、このパンジーは食べられるということですか？
- Does "shokuyo" mean these pansies are edible?
In this case, if it's clear from context that you're talking about the label, you can omit reference to it and just start off with ということは, like:
- ということは、このパンジーは食べられるということですか？
- Does that mean these pansies are edible?
Here, using ということは at the beginning of a setence is sort of like a set pattern, so you can't replace it with の in this example.
Finally, 〜ということ can also be used to report anything you heard indirectly to someone. For example, if you want to report what you heard at the garden center to your boss, you can say:
- 店員さんによると、このパンジーは食べられるということです。
- According to the staff, these pansies are edible.
This use of 〜ということ has a formal ring to it, so it's frequently used when formally and/or officially reporting something. Again, replacing こと with の in the form of 〜というのです will sound like you're expressing astonsishment. It changes the tone and wouldn't be suitable for a formal report.
〜というような〜 for "Someone/Something Like…"
You learned that 〜という can directly attach to a noun to describe the noun. For example, 山田タカシという人 means "a person called Yamada Takashi." You can also insert a word like ような (like, seem) between 〜という and the noun that follows, like:
- 山田タカシというような人は知りません。
- I don't know a person with a name like Yamada Takashi.
In this case, ような helps to make the description less specific. As a result, the above sentence indicates that you don't know a person named Yamada Takashi, or anyone with a name similar to Yamada Takashi.
Say you actually know Yamada Takashi, and remember that you heard he's moved to the US. In this case, you can also use 〜というような and say:
- そういえば、タカシはアメリカに行ったというようなことを聞いたな。
- Now that I think of it, I heard something like Takashi moved to the US.
Here, というような marks the information you heard while implying that you're not sure whether what you remember is entirely accurate.
〜というと for "Speaking of…"
〜という can also be used with another quote marker と, as in 〜というと. This expression is similar to "speaking of…" in English. It's used in response to a topic to describe what it reminds the speaker of and/or to provide some additional information on it.
Consider the following scenario: someone informs you that they are going to travel to Canada. If that reminds you of a common Canadian product, you could say:
- カナダというと、メープルシロップが有名ですよね。
- Speaking of Canada, they are famous for maple syrup, right?
As mentioned above, 〜というと is a bit of a stiff expression and is often used in written language. In spoken language, it's more common to use 〜といえば or 〜っていうと instead.
- カナダ[といえば・っていうと]、メープルシロップが有名ですよね。
- Speaking of Canada, they are famous for maple syrup, right?
Also, note that sometimes the thing being referred to is omitted, especially when the response is made very swiftly.
- [というと・といえば・っていうと]、メープルシロップが有名ですよね。
- Speaking of which, they are famous for maple syrup, right?
〜というより for "Rather than…"
Used with the comparison marker より (than), 〜というより can work similarly to "rather than" in English. For example, if you think your friend Takashi is more suited to being a politician than a lawyer, you can say:
- タカシは弁護士というより、政治家っぽいよね。
- Takashi is more like a politician than a lawyer, don't you think?
In this case, 〜というより implies that "it's possible to say or call someone or something X, but Y is more fitting in comparison to X."
Let's say you ate something incredibly spicy and your friend asks if your mouth is tingling. If your mouth feels like it's on fire instead of tingling, you can say:
- ピリピリするというより、燃えている感じ。
- It's burning rather than tingling.
I hope your mouth cools down soon. 👄🔥
Beyond The Basics
〜というか〜というか for When You're Not Sure How to Describe Something
〜という can also be used with the particle か, which is a marker of the unknown. In this case, it usually denotes a parenthetical statement that lists your uncertain impression or judgment of a person, thing, event, etc.
Let's say you were strolling down the street when someone approached you and asked if you could lend them 10,000 yen, claiming they had misplaced their wallet and needed to catch the shinkansen (bullet train) to get home. You felt bad and lent them 10,000 yen. Later, when you told your mother about it, she said:
- 知らない人に一万円を貸すなんて、バカというか、お人よしというか…。
- Lending 10,000 yen to a stranger? I'm not sure if you're stupid or just good-natured, or…
Here, 〜というか marks your mom's assessment of who you are as a person based on what you did, but か expresses that she is still not sure what the best way to describe it is. It's common to list two examples, but it can also be just one example, like:
- 知らない人に一万円を貸すなんて、バカというか…。
- Lending 10,000 yen to a stranger? Either you're stupid, or…
Also, sometimes the word is replaced with 何 (what), like:
- 知らない人に一万円を貸すなんて、バカというか、何というか…。
- Lending 10,000 yen to a stranger? I'm not sure if you're stupid or what…
In this case, it suggests that either your mother is unsure of how to describe you or that she is trying to avoid saying something quite obvious.
Lastly, this pattern is often followed by the statement of an overall judgment.
- 知らない人に一万円を貸すなんて、バカというか、お人よしというか、ほんと困った子だよ。
- Lending 10,000 yen to a stranger? I'm not sure if you're stupid or just good-natured. Whatever it is, you really make me worry.
というか for Rephrasing What You've Just Said
というか can also be used to rephrase something you've just said.
For example, if you are talking about a crafty woman but you think the word "crafty" is a little nasty, you can swiftly alter it to "smart " with というか, like:
- 彼女はずるい…というか賢いよね。
- She's so crafty… or smart, I should say.
By adding というか, you can express that ずるい (crafty) was something that popped out of your mouth as an example because you weren't initially sure how to describe her.
This use of というか has also developed into a way of changing the subject in conversation, like "by the way" in English. In this use, it's often used in the casual version っていうか.
- っていうか、日曜日、ヒマ？
- By the way, are you available on Sunday?
Note that some younger generations may also pronounce it (or even write it) as ってゆーか.
〜という〜 for Emphasis
Sometimes, you may come across a situation where the same noun is used before and after という as in 木という木. This is an expression often used in literature. It points to the noun as a whole category, and demonstrates the extent to which anything in that category is affected by some event or situation.
Consider this scenario: you go for a walk every day, but one day you arrive at your favorite street to find that all the trees have been cut down. You can describe this situation as in:
- 木という木が切り倒されていた。
- All the trees were cut down.
(Literally: Anything that could be called a tree was cut down.)
And then you also notice that all of the flowers have been trampled.
- 花という花が踏みつぶされていた。
- All the flowers were trampled.
(Literally: Anything that could be called a flower was trampled.)
What a depressing situation! You can also use this pattern for positive things as well, though. For example, if instead you saw all the trees dense with foliage and all the flowers in bloom, you could say:
- 木という木が青く茂り、花という花が咲き誇っていた。
- All the trees were lush and all the flowers were in bloom.