NihongoShark

JLPT N4: ～なくてもいい (doesn't have to be...)

You will recall that we just had an N4 lesson on ～なくてもいい, and how it is used to say "don't have to VERB" or "(it's) not necessary to VERB."

Here, we're looking at something very similar: Using ～なくてもいい to say "doesn't have to be (something)."

For this usage, we are not using verbs. Instead, we're using i-adjectives, na-adjectives, and NOUNS.

The meaning is a bit different, too. Instead of saying "You don't have to do X," we are saying "A doesn't have to be B" or "It's OK if A is not B."

Let's look at an example...

Doctor:

毎日でなくてもいいから、お酒を飲まない日を作ってください。

まいにちでなくてもいい　から、　おさけ　を　のまない　ひ　を　つくって　ください。

It doesn’t have to be every day, but please make some days no-alcohol days.

“every day + even if (it’s) not + good + because, + alcohol + を + don’t drink + day + を + make (and) + please.”

The doctor is making a concession, saying that an "acceptable solution" (=not drinking some days) is fine, instead of the "optimal solution" (=not drinking any days).

👷 Construction 👷

First, the patterns:

i-adjective く＋ なくても ＋いい
na-adjective で＋ なくても ＋いい
NOUN で＋ なくても ＋いい

Don't be too thrown off if you see ～じゃなくてもいい instead of ～でなくてもいい attaching to na-adjectives and NOUNS.

Also, like we saw in the previous N4 lesson, words like かまいません／かまわない are fine instead of いい, too.

Last, more colloquial forms like ～なくていい (=no も) and ～なくたっていい are used, also.

We have examples showing what I mean below...

付き合う人は、優しい人がいいです。頭がよくなくても、かっこよくなくてもいいです。

つきあう　ひと　は、　やさしい　ひと　が　いい　です。　あたま　が　よくなくても、　かっこよくなくてもいい　です。

I want to be with someone who is kind. He doesn’t have to be smart or good-looking.

“go out with / go steady with + person + は, + nice / kind + person + が + good + です. + even if (he’s) not smart (=head + が + even if [it’s] not good), + even if (he’s) not good-looking/cool + good + です.”

Teacher:

いらない本があったら学校の図書室に寄付してください。新品でなくてもかまいません。

いらない　ほん　が　あったら　がっこう　の　としょしつ　に　きふ　して　ください。　しんぴんでなくてもかまいません。

If you have any books that you don’t need, please donate them to the school library. It doesn’t matter if they’re new or not.

“don’t need + books + が + if (you) have / if there are + school + の + library (room) + に + donation + do (and) + please. + new item + even if (it’s) not + doesn’t matter / (we) don’t mind.”