# X は X だ



## Gavril

Hello,

A while ago, I read that 学生は学生だ means “A student is nothing but a student.” Is this the normal meaning of sentences of the pattern [X]は[X]だ? E.g., if you said

猫は猫だ

would it mean, “a cat is just a cat”, implying a certain contempt/disrespect for cats?

Also, I’m curious how you would convey meanings like the following?

“A cat *is* a cat” (= we should treat a cat in a way that's appropriate to its needs)

“The Prime Minister *is* the Prime Minister”  (= we have to respect the Prime Minister’s authority)

Thanks!


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## quantum zero

I think it depends on context of the sentences. So 学生は、学生だ means a student is a student. That’s how you would translate it. You can also interpret the meaning of the sentence to be “a student is nothing but a student.” Again you have to remember that there is nothing in the sentence says that “a student is nothing but a student.” The literal translation should be a student is a student. The same thing should also go to other sentences that you listed. I think you are thinking too hard about this. Do not worry too much about it. There is no deeper meaning in the sentence other than interpretation. I have a feeling that I might have missed the proper answer to your question. If that’s the case then I am sorry. Feel free to ask me again.


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## Gavril

quantum zero said:


> I think it depends on context of the sentences. So 学生は、学生だ means a student is a student. That’s how you would translate it. You can also interpret the meaning of the sentence to be “a student is nothing but a student.” Again you have to remember that there is nothing in the sentence says that “a student is nothing but a student.” The literal translation should be a student is a student. The same thing should also go to other sentences that you listed. I think you are thinking too hard about this. Do not worry too much about it. There is no deeper meaning in the sentence other than interpretation. I have a feeling that I might have missed the proper answer to your question. If that’s the case then I am sorry. Feel free to ask me again.



No, that does answer my question, thanks.

As I said, I recall reading that 学生は、学生だ has the specific implication "a student is just a student", but it looks like I was given incorrect information here, or maybe I misremembered what I read.


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## Flaminius

学生は、学生だ is not only, "A student is just a student."  It may express resignation to certain ways a student behaves (Cf. Boys will be boys.) or it can be an exhortation to a student that they should act like one.

This construction does not seem to be a claim for respect because understanding 首相は首相だ this way is very incongruent.  I cannot think of a general construction to the same effect now.  I think the most general reaction to an unseemly behaviour that PM has suffered is:
首相に失礼だ。


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## q_006

学生は、学生だけだ。Would be "a student is just a student"? Or is that too literal (translation-wise)?


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## Flaminius

That's the wrong sentence, *q_006*.  だけ cannot be used for the subject complement.  It's rather a strangely behaviour considering that it works alright with the subject: さよならだけが人生だ。

Anyway, to mean what you meant, say:
学生は学生でしかない。


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## q_006

One minor question. Why the で? I was looking around for examples namely at JGram.org and didn't see any sentences that connected で with the noun.


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## Aoyama

The structure is XX*で*しかない (XX is nothing but). Japanese wouldn't use "only" as だけ in that case (even though a literal translation might seem possible).
Cf. : "ishiki nashi no chishiki ha, tamashi no hakai *de shikanai*" (science without conscience is nothing but the ruin of the soul - Rabelais).
As for 学生は、学生だ, as Gavril mentionned in his examples (cat and Prime Minister), it is possible to understand it as in English, but probably not very idiomatic.
You could also have a structure like : "takai to yuttara, takai desu/takai'n da" (speaking about [being] expensive, that's [really] expensive).


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## Flaminius

q_006 said:


> Why the で? I was looking around for examples namely at JGram.org and didn't see any sentences that connected で with the noun.


で is required for the second argument of copular verbs.  Often, で is tucked under the copular verb as a result of phonetic changes.
である, most literally [for A] to exist as B, is a typical Japanese copular construction.
我が輩は猫である。
If you substitute A and B as in _A-wa B-de aru_ with "I" and "cat," you get "I am a cat."

To negate this sentence, one has to replace ある with ない.  [Augmenting ある with ない, which should be expected on the basis of other verbs, would produce *あらない.  This is, however, ungrammatical.] Immediately before this, は is inserted probably to mark the scope of negation.  で remains intact.  Adding all these changes, you will get:
我が輩は猫ではない。

Another copular verb, だ, is a contracted form parallel to である.  Because で is tucked under and included in the verb itself, you have to be a grammar buff to see the underlying で.


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