1

From the second episode of Death Note, authorities are debating what to do about a bunch of suspected criminals suddenly dying of heart attacks under mysterious circumstances:

そんな大組織などといったら

FBI か CIA がからんでいるとしか 思えませんな

もう一度言ってみたまえ!

まぁまぁ 冗談は慎んでください

まずはこれが殺人なのか 偶然なのか その解明でしょう

しかし検死の報告では みんな 原因の分からない心臓麻痺でしょ?

心臓麻痺って死因から洗ったのでは 何も出ませんからね

I'm confused by what this last bolded sentence means. Here's my attempt to parse it out:

  • Does the "心臓麻痺って" mean something like "These /so-called/ heart attacks" (with a hint of skepticism)?
  • 死因から洗った I assume means "investigated from the cause of death"? Why is から used instead of を ("investigated the cause of death")?
  • Why is のでは used instead of just のは?
  • What is 何も出ません getting across?
0

1 Answer 1

4

心臓麻痺って死因から洗ったのでは何も出ませんからね
= 心臓麻痺という死因から調べ始めたのでは、何も手掛かりは出ません(見つかりません)からね

  • AってB = AというB = B called A link
  • 死因から洗った: I guess the person who said it thought that there were other things to be investigated with higher priority and starting an investigation with 死因 was not a good idea. However, I think using を is also OK.
    • 「洗う」can also mean "to investigate". This is used by the police.
  • のでは(≠ のは) Usage:「A(assumption) ては / では / のでは、B(something bad)になる」link
3
  • Thanks for your answer. I had so many questions about the ~のでは construction that I made a new, more focused question on it. :)
    – George
    Commented Oct 3, 2023 at 18:14
  • So 死因から洗った means "investigating (something), starting with the cause of death (and then eventually moving onto other things)"?
    – George
    Commented Oct 3, 2023 at 18:15
  • 1
    > So 死因から洗った means "investigating (something), starting with the cause of death (and then eventually moving onto other things)"? Yes! Commented Oct 6, 2023 at 9:17

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .