って

Japanese

Etymology

A contracted form of と (to; used to indicate a quotation) and 言う (いう, iu; to say); literally meaning "I/you/he/she/they/we said that..".

Particle

って (romaji tte)

1. he/she/I/they/we said; a type of verbal quotation marks used for direct quotes and indirect quotes

   すぐ来ますって。

   すぐきますって。

   Sugu kimasu tte.

   He said he'd come soon.

   お母さんに聞いたら、「だめだ」って。

   おかあさんにきいたら、「だめだ」って。

   Okāsan ni kiitara, "dame da" tte.

   When I asked my mom, she said "no."

2. used to emphasize a word

   アラビア語って、難しくない？

   あらびあごって、むずかしくない？

   Arabiago tte, muzukashikunai?

   Arabic, you say? Isn't that difficult?

See also

• ってば