5

I know the grammatical form ない+までも that means "not until that degree, but", however I'm not sure how to translate とはいかないまでも in English. I found this expression in the following sentence:"明日ハイキングだ。快晴とはいかないまでも、雨は降らないで欲しい". I translated it roughly as :"tomorrow we got to hike. I don't hope it's a clear day, but that it doesn't (arrive to the point that) rain". Was I close?

Alex16
  • 1,375
  • 12
  • 22

3 Answers3

1

I am a new contributor. Have you already got a good answer to this question? I am not good at writing English, but I have tried to translate it into English.

  • 快晴とはいかないまでも、雨は降らないで欲しい。
  • I do hope that it will not be rainy, not to say perfectly sunny.

Does this English sound good or correct to you?

samhana
  • 1,259
  • 5
  • 8
  • 2
    That English is okay-ish, but the "not to say" part doesn't work very well in that way. As an alternative, the phrase "too much to ask" springs to mind. My translation therefore would be something like this: "If sunshine is too much to ask, I hope it will stay dry at least." (You might wonder who is being "asked". I don't know. The weather god(s) perhaps. The phrase is idiomatic enough that it doesn't really matter in a literal sense.) – Will Apr 16 '21 at 12:30
  • Will, thank you for your comment, which is very instructive to me as an English learner. – samhana Apr 16 '21 at 23:46
1

Same use as "Just":

  • 「明日ハイキングだ。快晴とはいかないまでも、雨は降らないで欲しい」

  • "Tomorrow is hiking. It doesn't need to be sunny, I just don't want it to rain."

Joao VKN
  • 71
  • 2
  • You don't need "just", the sentence is fine without it. いくまで(until it goes).
    いかない(doesn't go). Doesn't need (to goes like)A, __ B is ok.     – Joao VKN Apr 16 '21 at 14:16
0

So, my take is

  • I am going to picnic Tomorrow and I don't mean it's going to be a very sunny day, but at least it will not rain.
kimi Tanaka
  • 5,608
  • 1
  • 8
  • 20