- JLPT N2
にしろ
NikoJLPT N2: にしろ (even if; whether or not)
にしろ means something like "even if," as we see here:
プレゼントを買うお金がないにしろ、「おめでとう」くらいは言ったほうがいいよ。
プレゼント を かう おかね が ない にしろ、 「おめでとう」 くらい は いった ほう が いい よ。
Even if you don’t have money to get her [him] a gift, you should at least say Happy Birthday [Congratulations].
Like we see in the above sentence, にしろ is often used in the following pattern:
A にしろ、B
Even if A, B.
...where B is the speaker's judgment, advice, opinion, criticism, etc.
This is pretty much the same meaning としても and にしても, one of which we've seen in a past N2 lesson: JLPT N2: にしても ([hypothetical] even if).
The difference is that にしろ sounds a bit more formal. Although it's formal, this is still relatively common Japanese, so you will encounter it.
🚧 Construction 🚧
You don't need to worry too much about what comes before にしろ.
Generally speaking, you can just put words in plain form right before it. In the case of na-adjectives and nouns, である can be inserted between them and にしろ, as in the following sentence:
たとえ仲のいい友達であるにしろ、女の子にそんなこと聞いたらだめだよ。
たとえ なかのいい ともだち である にしろ、 おんなのこ に そんな こと きいたら だめ だ よ。
Even if she is your good friend, you can’t ask a girl a question like that.
Did you notice the word たとえ (even if) in that last example?
Words like たとえ、仮に (かりに // supposing) and question words like 何 (なに// what) are commonly used in sentences with にしろ, as we'll see in our next two examples...
たとえ悪気はなかったにしろ、人に怪我をさせたのだからちゃんと謝るべきだ。
たとえ わるぎ は なかった にしろ、 ひと に けが を させた のだ から ちゃんと あやまる べきだ。
Even if you [he] didn’t intend to cause any harm, since you [he] hurt someone, you [he] should apologize.
何を飼うにしろ、ペットは最後まで責任をもって飼わなければならない。
なに を かう にしろ、 ペット は さいご まで せきにん を もって かわなければならない。
Regardless of what type of pet one gets, pet owners have a responsibility to take care of their pet until the end.
Pretty straightforward, yeah?
Hope you enjoyed this lesson. ^_^
Niko
