That's what… is: 〜というものだ
N / Adj-な / plain form + というものだ
〜というものだ: “that's what X (really) is” or “that's what you call…”. A general judgement presented as self-evident, often moralising.
In short
〜というものだ makes a general judgement presented as self-evident: “that's what X (really) is”, “that's what you call…”. It's used to say what a friend, a parent or life really is, or to label an act (“that's just plain rude”). Written or measured spoken register, sometimes preachy.
- 困っている人を助けるのが、友達というものだ。こまっているひとをたすけるのが、ともだちというものだ。Helping people in need — that's what a friend is.
- 人の手紙を勝手に読むのは、失礼というものだ。ひとのてがみをかってによむのは、しつれいというものだ。Reading other people's letters without permission is just plain rude.
- 一週間でこれを全部やれなんて、無理というものです。いっしゅうかんでこれをぜんぶやれなんて、むりというものです。Doing all of this in a week is simply impossible.
The basics
〜というものだ literally means “it's a thing called X”. In practice, the speaker asserts that something matches the true nature of X: “that's what a friend is”, “that's life”. They present their judgement as an obvious truth everyone should share.
A second, very common use: labelling an act by putting it in a category, often a negative one (失礼, わがまま, 無理, ぜいたく): “that's what you call selfishness”.
Helping people in trouble — that's what a friend is.
- noun
- verb
- grammatical form
- いい時もあれば悪い時もある。人生とはそういうものだ。いいときもあればわるいときもある。じんせいとはそういうものだ。There are good times and bad times. That's life.
How to form it
You attach というものだ to a noun or a な-adjective (without だ), or to the plain form of a verb. Often the sentence starts with 〜のが／〜のは (“doing…”) and ends with the defining noun. In relaxed speech, you hear というもんだ or ってもんだ.
| Before | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | それが友達というものだ | that's what a friend is |
| な-adj | それは無理というものだ | that's simply impossible |
| Verb | これで苦労したかいがあったというものだ | that made it all worthwhile |
| Polite / spoken | というものです／ってもんだ | same meaning |
- ここまで来れば、がんばったかいがあったというものだ。ここまでくれば、がんばったかいがあったというものだ。Now that we've got this far, you could say our efforts have paid off.
- 全部他人のせいにするのは、ひきょうというものだ。ぜんぶたにんのせいにするのは、ひきょうというものだ。Blaming everything on other people is what you call cowardice.
というものだ, ものだ, わけだ
ものだ (N3) states a natural tendency: 人は変わるものだ (“people change, that's how it is”). というものだ adds a judgement: you assert that something deserves its name. わけだ (N3) draws a logical conclusion from a fact (“that's why”), with no value judgement.
| Sentence | Nuance |
|---|---|
| 子どもはよく熱を出すものだ | it's in the nature of things |
| 子どもを守るのが親というものだ | that's what being a parent is (judgement) |
| 三年住んでいたから、詳しいわけだ | logical: that's why he knows it well |
- 時間がたてば、忘れるものだ。じかんがたてば、わすれるものだ。With time, you forget; that's how it is.
Don't confuse it with “a thing called”
When というもの is followed by a particle (を, が, は) and the sentence carries on, it isn't a judgement: it's simply “a thing called X”, used to introduce something little known. Only というものだ at the end of a sentence carries the judgement.
- 名古屋で「ういろう」というものを食べた。なごやで「ういろう」というものをたべた。In Nagoya, I ate something called “uirō”.
- もらってすぐお礼を言うのが、礼儀というものだ。もらってすぐおれいをいうのが、れいぎというものだ。Saying thank you as soon as you receive something — that's what good manners are.
Common mistakes
- Confusing it with というもの + particle (“a thing called”): 「ういろう」というものを食べた isn't a judgement.
- Using it for an isolated fact: “×昨日雨が降ったというものだ”. You need a general truth or the labelling of an act.
- Forgetting the tone: said to someone's face, というものだ can sound preachy.
7 exercises on this point
Particles to choose, sentences to put back in order, translations: marked straight away, then reviewed at the right time. This JLPT N2 point is on the Aonami Line (Science and technology) of the Nagoya lines.