と言(い)ってもいい (to ittemo ii)
~と言ってもいい — you could say ~
Pattern
-
普通形 + と言ってもいいplain form + と言ってもいい (noun and な-adjective take だ: 医者だと言ってもいい)
Meaning
Literally “it is also fine to say ~”. In practice it means that the statement is close enough to the truth that you can safely say it, even if it is slightly exaggerated. It is useful for strong evaluations such as “the best” or “already the same as”.
Similar expressions
~と言える (“can be said”) is similar and a little more formal. ~と言っていい is the same as ~と言ってもいい. It is an opinion, so it is not used for plain facts.
Examples
-
彼(かれ)はこの町(まち)で一番(いちばん)の医者(いしゃ)と言(い)ってもいい。
Kare wa kono machi de ichiban no isha to itte mo ii.
You could say he's the best doctor in this town.
-
この公園(こうえん)は町(まち)で一番(いちばん)広(ひろ)いと言(い)ってもいい。
Kono kōen wa machi de ichiban hiroi to itte mo ii.
You could say this park is the largest in town.
-
彼女(かのじょ)の日本語(にほんご)はもう先生(せんせい)と同(おな)じだと言(い)ってもいい。
Kanojo no nihongo wa mō sensei to onaji da to itte mo ii.
You could say her Japanese is already as good as a teacher's.
Common mistakes
- It does not simply mean “you may say it” as permission; in this pattern it softens an opinion.
- Use it for evaluations, not for plain facts such as dates or numbers.
More grammar points
- でも 名詞でも — “~ or something / how about ~?”
- ではないか ~ではないか — “isn’t it ~? / isn’t that so?”
- が必要(がひつよう) ~が必要だ — “~ is necessary / needed”
- がする ~がする — sensing a smell, sound, taste or feeling
- じゃないか ~じゃないか — “isn't it?” / “let's ~, shall we?”
- かどうか ~かどうか — “whether (or not) ~”
- から作(つく)る ~から作る — “made from ~ (raw material)”
- こと こと — turning a verb into a noun
- ことがある ~ことがある — “there are times when ~”
- ことになる ~ことになる — “it has been decided that ~ / it ends up that ~”
- ことにする ~ことにする — “decide to ~”
- くする ~くする — “make it ~” (with i-adjectives)
- まま ~まま — “as it is / left as ~”
- または または — “or”
- など など — “and so on / things like ~”
- ながら ~ながら — doing two things at once
- に気(き)がつく ~に気がつく — “notice ~ / become aware of ~”
- にする ~にする — “decide on ~ / make it ~”
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