1

I am trying to understand

実母なんて10人も兄弟いるのに、誰一人と仲良くないし、誰の連絡先も知らないよ。

and have broken it into pieces:

実母なんて10人も兄弟いるのに

  1. Which reading of 人 is here being used? Is 人 here being used as a counter?

  2. Are there any implicit particles being dropped after 10人 or 兄弟?

誰一人仲良くない

  1. Is し being used here as a conjunctive?

  2. Why is と being used after 誰一人?

  3. Is a good translation of this clause something like: "there doesn't exist a single friendly person"?

誰の連絡先も知らないよ

  1. Is there an implicit を particle being dropped here after 誰の連絡先 (since there is a も), since 知らない is a transitive verb and 誰の連絡先 is the direct object of this?
2
  • 1
    Isn't there も after 誰一人と?
    – naruto
    Dec 7, 2022 at 1:34
  • 1
    仲(が)いい means 'close [to someone]', not 'friendly'
    – Angelos
    Dec 7, 2022 at 11:29

1 Answer 1

4
  1. にん. It's a counter. も indicates 10 is a big number ("as many as 10").
  2. Nothing is omitted after 10人 (も is explicitly there). が is omitted after 兄弟.
  3. Yes, it's basically "and", but has a nuance of "moreoever" or "what's worse/more".
  4. This と after 誰一人 is "with". AはBと仲が良い means "A is in good terms with B" or "A gets along with B". I believe も is missing after 誰一人と.
  5. A literal translation would be "(my true mother) is not in good terms with anyone".
  6. Yes, (interrogative +) も (+ ~ない) works by replacing を and が, but it doesn't replace other particles like と, に, へ and から. Compare:
    • 何も買わない。
      I'll buy nothing.
      (も has replaced を)
    • どこへも行かない。
      I'll go nowhere.
      (も follows へ)

実母なんて10人も兄弟(が)いるのに、誰一人とも仲良くないし、誰の連絡先も知らないよ。
My (real) mother has (as many as) 10 siblings, but she gets along with no one (of them) and (what's worse) knows the contact information of no one.

3
  • Is なんてin this case equivalent to 「何と言う」, or is it being used in its 等 + とて sense?
    – George
    Dec 7, 2022 at 3:51
  • 1
    @George No, this なんて is just a nuanced topic marker. It's closer to など described here. This なんて adds a nuance like "hey my mom is worse!".
    – naruto
    Dec 7, 2022 at 3:58
  • In more idiomatic English: "My real mother has all of 10 siblings, but doesn't get along with any of them, and doesn't even have any of their contact information." Apr 17 at 19:40

You must log in to answer this question.

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