Grammar Info

N1 Lesson 5: 8/17

のなんのってSo much that, Extremely, Very

Structure

Verb + のなんのって
［い］Adjective + のなんのって
［な］Adjective + な + のなんのって

Details

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    Casual

About のなんのって

のなんのって is a casual phrase that is used in spoken Japanese to indicate that the word before it is 'excessively (A)', or 'extremely (A)'. This structure consists of the case marking particle の, the pre-noun adjectival 何(なん)の 'what kind of', and って, an abbreviation of という 'to say'.

The literal meaning of 'and to say it's (A) or something' just indicates that something is so (A) that if it is not that then the speaker doesn't know what to call it.

This structure will be seen after い-Adjectives, な-Adjectives followed by な, and verbs.

のなんのって itself is a more condensed variation of ～の～ないのって, which has the same meaning, but has (A) appear in both the positive and negative for 'to say it's (A) or not (A), (B)', where (B) will usually be a phrase explaining the extent of (A). Occasionally (B) will be left unsaid, as ～の～ないのって itself is always used to mean 'extremely (A)'.

Examples

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    お母(かあ)さんが「勉強(べんきょう)しろ」ってうるさいのなんのって、もう家(いえ)に帰(かえ)りたくないよ…。

    My mom is extremely annoying with comments like 'do your study', and I don't want to go home anymore.

    あの旅館(りょかん)の女将(おかみ)さんは愛想(あいそ)が悪(わる)いのなんのって、もう二度(にど)と行(い)くもんか！

    That ryokan's proprietress' amiability was so bad that there is no way I would ever go there again!

    ジャングルの中(なか)でワニと出(で)くわした時(とき)は焦(あせ)ったのなんのって、もう死(し)ぬかと思(おも)ったよ！

    I was extremely startled when I happened upon a crocodile in the jungle that I thought I was going to die!

    東京(とうきょう)の夏(なつ)は蒸(む)し暑(あつ)いのなんのって、少(すこ)し歩(ある)いただけで気持(きも)ち悪(わる)くなるくらいです。

    Tokyo's summer is extremely humid, so much so that it feels gross even if you just walked around a little bit.

    夫(おっと)の実家(じっか)は広(ひろ)いのなんのって、庭(にわ)には沢山(たくさん)の木(き)が植(う)えられていてプールもあるんだよ！

    My husband's family home is extremely spacious. There are lots of trees planted in the garden, and even a pool!

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      のなんのって – Grammar Discussion

      Most Recent Replies (3 in total)

      • wrt7MameLZE33wlmpCAV

        wrt7MameLZE33wlmpCAV

        Can anyone help break down the Japanese here? I understand this is a phrase, but I’m having trouble figuring out what the distinct “words” are.

        The って seems obvious: I’m guessing that’s the casual quote particle. The first の also seems to be nominalizing? So then, なん is なに and the の after it is emphatic/interrogative?

        I could really use some help.

      • djcostcosamples

        djcostcosamples

        I was just wondering this too!

        I found this answer on Stack Exchange: meaning - Why does ～なんてもんじゃない / ～のなんのって mean とても？ - Japanese Language Stack Exchange

      • wrt7MameLZE33wlmpCAV

        wrt7MameLZE33wlmpCAV

        Aw, man, I always forget about the Japanese Stack Exchange. Thanks for the reference.

        After reading the top answer there, I can’t believe that I actually parsed the syntax correctly. Even so, I couldn’t possibly have derived the right meaning from that alone.

        That explanation from Stack Exchange helped quite a bit.

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