connective N3 common casualpolitewritten
というと — speaking of ~
というと
Builds on という
Meaning
① topic association: speaking of ~ / when it comes to ~ — develops a topic the word brings to mind
② confirmation / inference: if you mean ~ / so that means ~ — confirms or draws out what the named thing implies
Key sentence
① topic association
北海道というと、まず雪を思い出す。
Speaking of Hokkaido, the first thing I think of is snow.
② confirmation / inference
「あの店」というと、駅前のカフェのこと？
By 'that shop,' do you mean the café in front of the station?
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun or plain-form clause | N / [clause(plain)] + というと | 温泉というと / 行くというと |
Examples
① topic association
和食というと、寿司や天ぷらが思い浮かぶ。
When it comes to Japanese food, sushi and tempura come to mind.
② confirmation / inference
来週というと、もう試験が始まるんですね。
Next week — so that means the exams are already starting, huh.
Easily confused with
といえば といえば leans to free association (what a word evokes). というと leans to confirmation/definition — pinning down exactly what the named thing refers to or implies. となると というと picks up and clarifies a topic. となると jumps to 'if it comes to that / in that case,' weighing the consequences of a hypothetical situation.
See というと in real sentences
Jengo shows というと 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.