Would it be correct to say:
「どのくらい夢がありましたか。」
I don't really know. This is for a Japanese assignment I have at school.
4 Answers
Sorry, I didn't understand (I am not English native) if you by "dream" in this case meant:
1) An aspiration / "target that is difficult to achieve"
2) Something that you "see" when you are asleep (and, if this was the case, one which is repeating, ie the person is asking when you for the first time saw the reappearing dream / nightmare)
Luckily ゆめ works for both,but,
a) If not knowing which one, I would say "その夢はいつからですか" (to avoid choosing between "いつから見てます"/"初めていつ見ましたか" and "いつからもってますか"
b) If I new it was 1), I would say "その夢はいつからもっていますか"
c) If I knew it was 2), I "その夢を初めて見たのはいつ(ごろ)ですか"
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3BTW, you English natives should improve your language to make it easier for us ;-) "I have a dream" was clear, as he said "have" and not "had". But Lionel Richie sang "I had a dream, I had an awesome dream"; pleeease can't you just make it "I saw a dream, I saw an awesome dream" ;-)– TuomoCommented Jul 9, 2019 at 14:39
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oh, that's interesting... In the anime/manga 進撃の巨人, there's a scene where the main character says 「アルミンは戦うだけじゃない。夢を見ている。」when referring to his friend Armin who has the dream of one day seeing the ocean. I wonder why didn't they use 「夢を持っている」instead. Commented Jul 9, 2019 at 17:26
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1I don't know the manga, and it is hard to see the link between your quote and the "wanting to see the ocean". Just speculating, but it could be related to wanting to [sorry don't know the grammatical term] use "apples and "apples" (戦う and 見る) instead of "apples and "oranges" (戦う and 持つ). Or maybe the idea is to say that that ア is not only focused of fighting, but he is at the same time dreaming of seeing the ocean. The 持つ is about having like "having the possession of" and not "obtaining/getting".– TuomoCommented Jul 10, 2019 at 3:45
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どのくらい夢がありましたか may be interpreted as "How many dreams did you have?" rather than “How long have you had this dream?”. I think "どのくらいこの夢を持ち続けていますか?" is more an appropriate translation for “How long have you had this dream?”.
answered Jul 9, 2019 at 11:01
I would add この (this) - どのくらいこの夢がありましたか. In Japanese, a lot of meaning is implied and not as specific as in English, however, if you want to be specific this should do the trick.
@Tchibi-kun's basic structure in his answer above with この夢をは、どのくらい有られていったね? can used and is used a lot over here in Japan. First, state the object of your question to be specific, then ask the question. Extremely common here. Don't need the を though. can say:
この夢は、どのくらい.....?
or
この夢のは、どのくらい.....?
and other similar options ( these are "spoken" options, don't always play as well in written form ).
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Of course, this will get down votes even though this is how we speak here in Sapporo. And the down votes will not come with any explanation....afraid to get into the discussion or to contribute? "Drive By" Down Votes.– G-ManCommented Jul 9, 2019 at 14:33
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2この夢のは is not valid standard Japanese for the intended meaning. Commented Jul 9, 2019 at 22:23
If "dream" refers to an aspiration, here are some more options:
その夢はいつ(頃)から抱いているのですか？
いつ(頃)からその夢を抱いているのですか？
その夢を抱いているのはいつ(頃)からですか？その夢はどれくらい前から抱いているのですか？
どれくらい前からその夢を抱いているのですか？
その夢を抱いているのはどれくらい前からですか？その夢は何年前から抱いているのですか？
何年前からその夢を抱いているのですか？
その夢を抱いているのは何年前からですか？その夢はどれくらいの期間抱き続けているのですか？
どれくらいの期間その夢を抱き続けているのですか？その夢は何年間抱き続けているのですか？
何年間その夢を抱き続けているのですか？
You can, of course, replace 何年 with other lengths, such as 何ヶ月 or 何十年.
Also, I prefer その夢 to この夢 because the dream belongs to the listener and thus is closer to him/her than to the speaker.
