Yasmin Dono
How to ask "What is this about" in Japanese?
I'm sorry if this sounds really simple, but I'm curious about how to ask the following question in Japanese :
"What is this about?"
For example : "What is this article about?"
I thought about using "koto" and it will sounds like "これはなんのことなの？" as what I know, "koto" means "about". But it doesn't sound quite right.
And I also had stumbled upon this word "について" / "ついて" <--(any difference between them?), and I completely have no idea of using them.
It's really confusing how these 2 words work, "koto" and "tsuite".
A little help is much appreciated.
Thank you! ^^
p/s: currently learning English & Japanese.
2016年6月27日 18:55
回答 · 5
2
Basically "about" means "について".
ついて usually sticks to a particle に like the followings:
これは、日本の歴史についての本だ。
This is a book about Japanese history.
何について話しているの？
What are you talking about?
Also についての is often interchangeable with の.
So, the first sentence can be これは、日本の歴史の本だ.
"What is this about?"
The direct translation would be これは、何についてですか？
It depends on the context, but the free translations are like these:
これ、どういうこと？(having an interrogative nuance)
これ、何のこと？
"What is this article about?"
これは何 の／についての 記事ですか？
I hope this helps you a little!
2016年6月28日
1
how about this: その本は何なのか。
2016年6月27日
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