Monday, July 31, 2006

こちらこそ

こそ is an enigmatic particle that seems to escape a lot of Japanese learners' vocabularies for a variety of reasons. Mainly though, this is because it is simply a word that is used to emphasize the preceeding word. Therefore, it is very situational-dependent.

(1) これこそ探してるものだよ!
This is the very thing I've been looking for!

(2) 日本の旅行すれば、北海道こそ行くべきだ。
If you're gonna travel in Japan, you shouldn't miss Hokkaido.

明日こそ勉強するぞ!
I'm gonna study tomorrow!
courtesy of SakayaSlag

Your sentence here!

Your sentence here!


However, there is one set phrase that even the most earliest of beginners have heard.



"こちらこそ。"

This is, essentially, a way to reply to a greeting or thanks:

「お話しできてよかった」「こちらこそ」
"Nice talking with you." "You, too."

「この間はどうもごちそうさま」「こちらこそ」
"Thank you for the dinner the other day." "You are welcome."


It is also frequently used with だから:



~だからこそ
only because of /precisely because

大きいからこそよく見える。
Because it's big, it's easy to see.


A: だって、具合が悪くて、散歩できないもん。
B: だからこそ、散歩しようよ。散歩したら、元気になるに違いないよ。
A: I can't go for a walk with you because I feel sick.
B: Precisely why you should come for a walk! If you do, you'll definitely feel better.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

明日こそ勉強するぞ!

jljzen88 said...

Added to the post!
But my question is...
本当に勉強するの?うそつくな!!

Anonymous said...

dakara koso -

I can't go for a walk with you because I feel sick.

DAKARA KOSO you should come for a walk! It will help you recover.

Or something like that.

RC

jljzen88 said...

Comments added, RC! Thanks for posting. When you got some free time/suggestions --post!