と言（い）えば (to ieba)
と言えば — “speaking of ～”
Pattern
-
名詞 ＋ と言えば、〜noun + と言えば (京都と言えば、夏と言えば) -
普通形 ＋ と言えば、〜plain form clause + と言えば (a topic taken from the conversation)
Meaning and connection
Mention a noun and then add what is typical or famous about it. 京都と言えば、お寺が有名です. The noun usually shows a place, a season, or a thing. The part after the comma gives the first image.
Spoken and written
It can also be written as と言えば / といえば, and it is similar to と言うと and といったら. It is mostly used in conversation or lightly written essays.
Changing the topic
In conversation, it can pick up something the other person just said and move to a related subject: 温泉と言えば、あの町が一番有名だ. The topic changes, but it stays connected.
Examples
-
京都（きょうと）と言（い）えば、お寺（てら）が有名（ゆうめい）です。
Kyōto to ieba, otera ga yūmei desu.
Speaking of Kyoto, the temples are famous.
-
夏（なつ）と言（い）えば、やはり花火（はなび）と祭（まつ）りだ。
Natsu to ieba, yahari hanabi to matsuri da.
Speaking of summer, it has to be fireworks and festivals.
-
温泉（おんせん）と言（い）えば、あの町（まち）が一番（いちばん）有名（ゆうめい）だ。
Onsen to ieba, ano machi ga ichiban yūmei da.
Speaking of hot springs, that town is the most famous.
Common mistakes
- It only introduces what you associate with the topic. Do not use it for a real condition (if). Use ～ば or ～たら.
- The second half is the speaker's association or comment, so a command or request is unnatural.
More grammar points
- ばよかった ～ばよかった — I should have ～, if only I had ～
- ばかりで ～ばかりで — only ～ (and nothing else, with a negative feeling)
- ばかりでなく ～ばかりでなく — not only ～ but also ～
- だけでなく ～だけでなく — not only ～ but also ～
- だけど だけど — but, however (casual)
- ふりをする ～ふりをする — pretending to ～
- 一方（いっぽう）だ ～一方だ — keeps ～ing in one direction
- 一体（いったい） 一体 — what on earth ～ (emphasizing a question)
- じゃない ～じゃない — isn't it ～! (surprise or confirmation)
- か何（なに）か ～か何か — ～ or something
- 代（か）わりに ～代わりに — instead of ～, in return for ～
- 結局（けっきょく） 結局 — in the end, after all
- きり ～きり — only ～; ever since ～
- っけ ～っけ — was it ～? (recalling)
- ことになっている ～ことになっている — it is the rule or plan that ～
- ことは～が ～ことは～が — it is true that ～, but ～
- くせに ～くせに — even though ～ (with reproach)
- も～ば～も A も ～ば B も ～ — both A and B
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