～といい, -to-ii - Meaning in Japanese

to ii といい means literally "if [something then] good." It's used to say something would be good if it happened, or if it were. It's the combination of the conditional particle to と, plus the ii いい.

Don't mistake this for to iimasu といいます, which means "[something] is called [something]," or "my name is [something]."

Manga: "

Assassination Classroom

," Ansatsu Kyoushitsu 暗殺教室 (Chapter 1)

Grammar

Basically, whatever comes before the conditional particle to と is the condition: it's what needs to be true. And if it's true, then it's "good," it's ii いい.

• yuushou suru to ii 優勝するといい
  If victorious: good.

In English, we'd naturally translate this with an "would be." For example:

• It would be good if victorious.
• It would be good if you won.

In a way, it can be similar to yokatta, meaning "was good," is the past form of ii. When -te-yokatta shows up, sometimes it's a regretful way to refer to a hypothetical scenario that didn't happen, but would have been good if it had happened.

• yuushou shite yokatta
  優勝してよかった

1. It's good thing I won. (because I did win.)
2. It would have been good if I had won. (but unfortunately I didn't win.)

When to ii is used after a verb, it can be interpreted in two ways depending on context:

1. The speaker is simply stating what he wishes would happen.
2. The speaker is advising someone that if they did something that would be good.

The pattern to ii can also be used with i-adjectives. For example:

• tanoshii to ii 楽しいといい
  If fun: good.

With da だ before to と. This happens because the na な after na-adjectives is an attributive copula, and you need something in the predicative before to と, hence you use the predicative copula da だ.

• shiawase na jinsei
  幸せな人生
  Happy life.
• shiawase na jinsei da to ii
  幸せな人生だといい
  If is happy life: good.
  It would be good if it were a happy life.
  It would be good if [he led] a happy life.
• jinsei 人生
  Life. (noun.)
• shiawase da to ii
  幸せだといい
  If is happy: good.
  It would be good if it were happy.
  It would be good if [he] were happy.
• shiawase 幸せ
  Happy. (na-adjective.)

Beware that when to ii といい comes right after a noun without the copula, it's a nominal conjugation (ren'youkei form) of the verb iu いう, "to say," coming after the quoting particle to と instead. For example:

• kore ga jinsei to ii
  これが人生といい
  Calling this "life." (i.e. this is called life.)
  (act of) calling this "life."
• Tanaka to iimasu 田中といいます
  [I'm] Tanaka.
  [I'm] called Tanaka.
• iimasu いいます
  Polite form of iu いう, which is the masu suffix attached to the ren'youkei.

da to ii na だといいな

The phrase da to ii na だといいな is sometimes used as an expression to say "it would be good if that happened," or "I wish that would be the case," or something like that.

Literally, it's the predicative copula da だ, plus the conditional particle to と, plus the i-adjective ii いい, plus the sentence-ending particle na な. We've already covered the first three things in this article, so what's important is this na な.

This particle has the nuance of "I think?" It's used when the speaker is expressing his opinion or conclusion about something.

This is slightly different from saying da to ii ne だといいね. Although similar to na な, the ne ね particle is more strongly about asking for agreement of the listener.

One difference is that you may see da to ii na written in thought bubbles, when a character is thinking alone about something that would be good, but da to ii ne requires a listener.

• da to ii na どといいな
  [That'd be] good, I think.
• I hope you agree with me.
• da to ii ne だといいね
  [That'd be] good, wouldn't it?
• Come on, nod or something!

Examples

殺せるといいですねぇ

Manga: "

Assassination Classroom

," Ansatsu Kyoushitsu 暗殺教室 (Chapter 1)

• Context: a tentacle monster destroys the moon and will destroy the Earth next year unless his class of assassin students manage to kill him before then.
• koroseru to ii desu nee
  殺せるといいですねぇ
  If able to kill: good.
• It would be good if you managed to kill me, don't you think?
• koroseru 殺せる
  Able to kill.
  (potential form of...)
• korosu 殺す
  To kill.
• sotsugyou made ni
  卒業までに
  Until graduation. (i.e. within one year.)

宿に泊まるといい

Game:

Dragon Quest IV

, Doragon Kuesto Foo ドラゴンクエストＩＶ

• Raian-dono. tatakai de kizu tsuitara
  machi ni modori yado ni tomaru to ii.
  「ライアンどの。たたかいで　キズついたら
  まちにもどり　やどに　とまるといい。
  Ryan-dono, if [you] get injured in battle
  it's good if [you] return to town and stay at an inn.
• In classic JRPGs, sleeping at an inn heals injuries. So it's good for you to go there and get the damage healed.

In Japanese,といい means literally "if [something then] good." It's used to say something would be good if it happened, or if it were. It's the combination of the conditional particleと, plus the i-adjective いい.Don't mistake this forといいます, which means "[something] is called [something]," or "my name is [something]."Basically, whatever comes before the conditional particleと is the condition: it's what needs to be true. And if it's true, then it's "good," it'sいい.In English, we'd naturally translate this with an "would be." For example:In a way, it can be similar to how -te-yokatta ～てよかった works . The word, meaning "was good," is the past form of. Whenshows up,it's a regretful way to refer to a hypothetical scenario that didn't happen, but would have been good if it had happened.Whenis used after a verb, it can be interpreted in two ways depending on context:The patterncan also be used with-adjectives. For example:With na-adjectives and nouns, you use the copulaだ beforeと. This happens because theな after-adjectives is an attributive copula, and you need something in the predicative beforeと, hence you use the predicative copulaだ.Beware that whenといい comes right after a noun without the copula, it's a nominal conjugation (form) of the verbいう, "to say," coming after the quoting particleと instead. For example:The phraseだといいな is sometimes used as an expression to say "it would be good if that happened," or "I wish that would be the case," or something like that.Literally, it's the predicative copulaだ, plus the conditional particleと, plus the-adjectiveいい, plus the sentence-ending particleな. We've already covered the first three things in this article, so what's important is thisな.This particle has the nuance of "I think?" It's used when the speaker is expressing his opinion or conclusion about something.This is slightly different from sayingだといいね. Although similar toな, theね particle is more strongly about asking for agreement of the listener.One difference is that you may seewritten in thought bubbles, when a character is thinking alone about something that would be good, butrequires a listener.