nominalizer N4 common casualpolitewritten
のこと — about
のこと
Meaning
- about ~ / concerning ~ — widens a noun to mean everything to do with it, especially with feelings and thoughts
Key sentence
彼女のことが好きだ。
I'm in love with her.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | N + のこと | 母 → 母のこと |
Examples
国の家族のことを思い出した。
I thought of my family back home.
仕事のことで相談がある。
There's something I want to discuss about work.
彼のことはよく知らない。
I don't really know much about him.
Easily confused with
Notes
- のこと is near-obligatory with certain verbs of feeling and thought toward people — 〜のことが好き, 〜のことを愛している, 〜のことを心配する — where dropping it sounds blunt or odd.
See のこと in real sentences
Jengo shows のこと the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar.