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I read that というのは can be abbreviated as とは, is that to say that the meaning of というのは is the same as とは?

However, the website I browsed about というのは mentioned that というのは cannot be abbreviated to とは if it is used as a reminder.

I also could not find any relevant english explanation regarding similarities/differences between both of them (e.g. Are both というのは and　とは the same word?)

Could anyone shed some light about this?

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  • Can you show the reference of this statement: "I read that というのは can be abbreviated as とは"
    – rebuuilt
    Commented Apr 27, 2020 at 4:15
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    @rebuuilt wasabi-jpn.com/japanese-grammar/topic-related-expressions
    – Thecie
    Commented Apr 27, 2020 at 4:20
  • I find this interesting because it says in the article "If you use というのは to remind listeners of something, you cannot abbreviate というのは [to とは]. This is often used to explain intercultural concepts." They go on to mention an example about kindness. On the other hand, back number begins its song 瞬き with 「幸せとは」which is another universal concept...
    – rebuuilt
    Commented Apr 27, 2020 at 13:05

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When (noun)とは denotes definition of things, (noun)というのは can function as well.

However, you can't do that when というの is just indirection and doesn't have semantic value, which is the same as (noun)は. e.g. ラーメンというのはどうだ？: How about ramen?

In addition, conjunction というのは, which means "more specifically" or "because" can't be contracted that way.

Of course, とは can't necessarily be rewound into というのは because it can simply be combination of と and は.

I read that というのは can be abbreviated as とは, is that to say that the meaning of というのは is the same as とは?

I don't think that explanation is quite right.

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