Sunday, January 29, 2017

grammar - Difference between Noun+な and Noun+だという


I came across this sentence:




四月だというのに、結構寒いね。 "It is April, but it is rather cold isn't it?"



Recalling what I learned about the のに conjunction, I can also make the sentence:



四月のに、結構寒いね。



(Question) What is the difference?



Answer



In this case, there is very little difference, except in flavor. You shouldn't look at it as という vs. な because they can't be compared. The な here simply allows you to use のに with the noun 四月.



という, in my mind, is like putting air quotes on something. という gives the former example more flavor, I think. Source --> Opinions, one Japanese and one American. I asked the Japanese lady next to me and she agreed.


四月だというのに、結構寒いね。>> Even though it's April, it's quite cold, huh? Flavor: This super coldness doesn't feel like "April," you know?


四月なのに、結構寒いね。>> Even though it's April, it's quite cold huh? Flavor: I'm stating a fact about the weather this April.


というのに is used a lot, so keep an ear out for it.


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