# ゆっくりでいいから



## theartofbreath

I felt I needed a little help with this short dialogue.
I think I get the jest of it but some of its unclear.

残してもいいよ It's okay to have some leftover(food?)

ゆっくりでいいから Slowly...??? <--unclear.

でも ちょっとだけは食べなね？But, eat only a little, okay?<--I'm not clear on this sentence either. Is she commanded the person to eat with 食べ and adding emphasis with な?  Or does 食べな mean something different on it's own?


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## Starfrown

食べな is an imperative. な is often said in this use to be an abbreviation of なさい, but it seems I read somewhere once that that is not certain. The natives can give you a clear idea of when such imperatives are appropriate. Based upon my experience, they seem to be used by authority figures in giving commands to persons of lower status.


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## theartofbreath

Okay, thanks. Based on the context of this, it seems right.


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## Starfrown

ゆっくりでいいから

I think this is:

"It's okay [to eat] slowly, so [don't eat too fast]"

Of course, the text in brackets is implied.


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## kaito

I think you could put the last sentence as "but at least eat a little bit"


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## Morrow

The mother sounds like she is negotiating: She knows it is impossible to force her child to eat it up, but she wants the child to eat as much of it as possible.  I think it could read like this:
You don't have to eat it all.  (You have my word.)
Slow is OK. (It doesn't matter how fast but how much.)
But eat a few bites, can't you? (Of course, I know you can.)

"食べな" means an order (I'm ordering you to eat.) and "ね" suggests the addressee is expected to perform that order (Not eating is the last thing I'd expect and want you to do).

Only, "食べな" is an informal way to say it and may sound vulgar to some Japanese.

Morrow


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## Mugi

theartofbreath said:


> 残してもいいよ It's okay to have some leftover(food?)
> ゆっくりでいいから Slowly...??? <--unclear.
> でも ちょっとだけは食べなね？


 
These phrases remind me of when I first came to Japan and did a homestay ...

Non-literal translations:
You don't have to finish it all.
Take your time. / No need to rush.
But do at least eat a little.


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## theartofbreath

Thank you so much for all your help guys.

One more quick question.

how is から at the end of

ゆっくりでいいから

functioning in this sentence?


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## Starfrown

I tried to indicate that in my earlier translation. Basically, it may be translated as "since" or "so." It is very common in conversational Japanese to end an utterance with から. In this case we have:

"*Since* slowly is okay..."
"Slowly is okay, *so*..."

The rest of the sentence is implied--the context should tell you what follows.


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## theartofbreath

Oh, okay, I see now.  Thank you very much


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## Flaminius

から is often placed at the end of a clause indicating a reason for a judgement or a statement in the main clause.  In day-to-day conversations, however, から can often end a sentence.  I am not sure if this is listed as such in grammar books but I think some of the から's can be seen as a sentence ending particle for conveying reassurance to the listener.


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