I need some help with this grammar point ’ことは'.

The definition I have is "Indeed one does something alright, but ~"

Verb / い adj ことは V2/ い2 adj　"話すことは”　”高いことは”


  • 高【たか】かったことは高かった
  • 笑う【わらう】ことは笑うがおかしくない
  • 便利【べんり】なことは便利だが、高すぎる
  • 安い【やすい】ことは安いがたちがわるい

Why is the verb/adjective always written twice? It's confusing. I just can't seem to understand these example sentences.


This construction is usually followed by が or けれど and means something like "yes, one does X but...". It conveys the meaning that there's a caveat - the statement is true but there's a condition/fact that modifies it meaning, softening it or negating to some extent. It's used to justify your actions ("Yes, it was expensive but I needed it (so I bought it)."), providing an opposing view in a soft way ("Yes, it's nice but it's too dark (so I won't buy it)."), etc.

Don't worry about the fact that the verb or adjective is repeated twice - it's just the way the structure is built.

Note that this structure also exist for な-adjectives: な-adj ことは な2-adjだ.

It's best to understand it based on examples.

It was expensive but... (I liked it so I bought it anyway)

(Yes, ) I laughed but it wasn't really funny.

(It's true) It is convenient but it's too expensive.

(You may think) It is cheap but the quality is poor.


  • "A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar", page 206. 「ことは」structure's explanation - translated as "indeed one does something alright, (but ~); indeed ~ (but ~); do ~ (but ~)".

  • "A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar", page 205. 「ことは」structure is compared to 「～ないこともない」. It is stated that both structure are used to not give an unconditional statement. The former is used to answer affirmative questions, the latter negative questions.

  • :Do you have a reference by any chance? – Tim May 1 '14 at 22:25
  • That helps a little bit, thank you. I'll try thinking about it in that sort of way. – Pixeluh May 1 '14 at 22:39
  • 3
    The reduplication can be made to sound natural, even in English: "Expensive things are expensive, I'll grant, but that's too much!" – Kaji May 2 '14 at 7:24
  • @Tim, what kind of reference and related to which part would you like? – Szymon May 2 '14 at 10:22
  • @Szymon: The first paragraph of your answer. I am realise it is your explanation, and I can't add anything but I wondered if it could be referenced. – Tim May 3 '14 at 0:37

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