connective N3 uncommon politewritten
のは〜のことだ — what is meant by ~ is
のは〜のことだ
Builds on のは〜だ
Meaning
- what is meant by ~ is ~ / what ~ refers to is ~ — a cleft frame that picks out a topic with のは and identifies what it points to with のことだ
Key sentence
私が言いたいのは、お金のことだ。
What I'm talking about is money.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 〜のは (cleft topic) + 名詞 + のことだ | 〜のは + N + のことだ | 問題なのは、安全のことだ |
Examples
彼が心配しているのは、子どもの将来のことだ。
What he's worried about is his children's future.
さっきから話しているのは、来週の予定のことだ。
What we've been talking about all this while is next week's schedule.
Easily confused with
See のは〜のことだ in real sentences
Jengo shows のは〜のことだ 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. Editorial confidence: low.