という — the naming/quoting machine (Cure Dolly)
という = と + いう — と labels content, いう (言う) says it. Literal: “saying [X]” → “called / the-so-called”.
| use | build | example |
|---|---|---|
| named | N1 という N2 | 田中という人 = a person called Tanaka |
| the so-called / that thing called | 〜というのは | 「もったいない」というのは = what’s called “mottainai” is… |
| summarize content | clause という N | 彼が来ないという噂 = the rumor that he’s not coming |
| filler for unknown | なんとか/誰とか という | なんとかという人 = a someone-or-other called… |
| all/every (emphasis) | N という N (repeated) | 人という人 = every single person |
Two directions, one machine
Section titled “Two directions, one machine”- Noun side: XというY = “Y, [which people] call X” — introduces names. The relative clause is just いう (“[they] say X”).
- Content side: [clause]というN = the clause is quoted as the content of N — same と as 君がヘビが恐いと思っている. Any noun that takes content (噂 rumor, 意味 meaning, 話 story, のは frame) can receive it.
というのは / っていうのは
Section titled “というのは / っていうのは”Definition frame: 「X」というのはYだ = “X, so-called, is Y”.
「習得」というのは、言語を身につけることです = “‘Acquisition’, as it’s called, means making a language your own.”
Casual contraction: っていう (彼っていう人) · って (それ、どういう意味って?) — spoken only.
vs similar forms
Section titled “vs similar forms”| form | job |
|---|---|
| という | name/label content — “called” |
| というのは | define the concept — “what’s called X is…”; also topic-izer 「X」っていうのは |
| といった | “such as / like” — open list |
| とか | “or something / and stuff” — casual vague list (し’s vaguer cousin) |
| って | casual と quote OR casual という |
Dolly gloss
Section titled “Dolly gloss”Japanese has no indirect speech — you wrap words and hand them over with と (kashira-wonder example). という does it to nouns: the quoted content becomes an attribute of the noun. XというY = “Y, described as X”.
Related
Section titled “Related”- particle-roles — と as content label
- noda-cleft — というのは and the definition/cleft frame
- kashira-wonder — と quoting inside thoughts