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- "That is right, isn't it?"
"That is right, isn't it?"
Translation:そうですよね?
33 Comments
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I learned that the "ne" particle is used to make your sentence a bit more firm and not so strict.. Like if someone is a bit embarrassed to say something or just not sure whether to say it or not he would say for example.. "This dress is pretty, isn't it?" But if he was confident about it, he would say.. "This dress is pretty" only without "isn't it", as for japanease he just wouldn't use the "ne" particle
I hope this helps someone : )
This is an excellent resource on the subject of よ and ね endings: https://www.punipunijapan.com/japanese-particles-yo-ne/
Okay this is another one that annoys me. If I hear the English "that is right, isn't it?" then it sounds like you're asking if something is correct. For that I'd expect 合ってるよね or 正しいよね but if you want to translate そうですね it's more like, "yeah, I know!" It's acknowledging and agreeing with someone as part of the flow of a conversation and "that is right, isn't it?" isn't a good translation, especially out of context.
I compare ね with eh in "Canadian" (not that we actually use it a lot in the west) so I also like the idea of よ when translated as "you know" but it's described as used when you think it's new info to the listener To me "you know" is like don't you know or you should know So I'm less confident using it
か makes it a genuine question "Is that right?" You don't know if that is right or not and you are looking for an answer
ね is a softened statement seeking agreement from the listener "Isn't it?" You believe that it is right and you are seeking confirmation that you are correct
You wouldn't use both. That's like saying "Is that right, isn't it?" which doesn't make sense
ああ そうですか? [Troll face]
I want my 1 Duolingo point back! Literally nobody's gonna care whether you say そうですね, そうですよね or そうですか. None of them have any useful meaning and in conversation they're basically a way of saying 'I'm still listening'.
Other times it's more of an 'O RLY?' For example my daughter was abducted to Japan. Whenever I visit I've gotta go through him during the handover period and he's a real pain in the such and such. His canned response for any comment I make about him obstructing my parental access or being unreasonable in negotiations is 'ああ そうですか?' He is not agreeing with me or making a commitment to anything. Rather, he's saying 'okay that's your opinion... I heard you but I'm not gonna do anything about it'.
Sigh... I doubt I will ever say そうですよね.