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I have a quick question about something I've come across:
中村さんだけでもいいんだけどねえ。
I'm at a loss as to what it could mean, and I wonder if it might be an idiom of sorts? If so what is its meaning?
What I have learnt is that だけでも can mean "even only…” and "いいんだけど" means "I hope/wish".
But it doesn't seem to make sense if I try to put it together:
For example:
Even Nakamura san only I hope.
That doesn't sound right to me. Any help is appreciated!
「だけでもいいんだけど」 is not an expression.
だけ means "only".
でも is a combination of the 連用形 of the auxiliary 「だ」, and the particle も which has the meaning of "also", so でも means "even if it is..." (lit. also be).
いい is basically the adjective 良い which means "good, okay".
ん is a contraction of the "explanatory" particle の.
The only part you could see as an expression is the んだけど part that you can translate like "though" or "but" depending on the sentence.
So as a translation, I would say :
中村さんだけでもいいんだけどねえ。 = It's okay even if it's only Nakamura though/but...
