# でいい vs. がいい



## Nino83

Minasan konnichiwa!
I've read on a site and seen in a video that it sounds compromising to use "de ii" instead of "ga ii" if one wants to say that something is good. 
For example: 
Pizza (o) taberu (no)? 
Sore ga ii. (Yeah, ok, that's good! ) 
Sore de ii. (Uhm, well, ok. If you really want to eat pizza....) 
Sore de mo ii. (Yeah, we can even eat pizza) 

Now, there are no problems with "ga" and "de mo", I understand them. 
My question is: what does "de" mean, which is its function, in this sentence? Is it a contraction?


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## SoLaTiDoberman

Sore ga ii. (I like it, and I'm willing to eat it.)
Sore de ii. (I can compromise to choose it. I don't mind to eat it. That'll be okay.)
Sore demo ii. (I can compromise to choose it. I don't mind to eat it. That is also good.)

De and demo is more or less the same.


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## 810senior

Sore-demo ii = I would comply with this even though it meant to be unfavorable in some way or it is just the empathized one of _Sore-de ii._


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## Nino83

Thank you.
A cultural question. If, for example, you propose to do something and one says "sore de(mo) ii", do you feel upset, pissed off, offended? Is it considered rude or does it depend on the situation?


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## citrustree

I think it depends on the situation and the tone of voice but most of the time it wouldn't upset or offend the person who proposed an idea.

If you say it in a positive tone of voice, it will probably sound like "That's fine!". I've just happened to respond to my sister about the hotel she booked for our vacation. I said to her by email それでいいよ, because I didn't know which hotel would be good and she found one that she liked. I couldn't say それがいい、because I didn't know if that particular hotel was better than others. So それでいい was my natural response.

If you say it in a negative tone of voice, it could sound like "I don't really like it but if you like it, I won't say no.". A lot less enthusiastic.


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## frequency

Nino83 said:


> do you feel upset, pissed off, offended?


Not quite. Usually, それでもいい sounds like you're making a compromise as Doberman and 810 said. "Oh~ then それでもいい。"
And I agree that それでいい is okay, too.

But それでもいい isn't impossible when you agree and welcome the idea like "Good! それでもいい！" You can say それもいいね。, too.


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## Nino83

Thank you all!


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## Flaminius

You can use でいい not to overstay the welcome.  If your host offers you a variety of drinks from tea, coffee to beer and you just want water, you can still say 水でいいです in order to acknowledge the favour your host has extended to you.  You know your host can do more but you are satisfied with just as much as some water.

Misunderstanding can occur when you fail to assess the favour of your host.  I once had to apologize profusely to a friend for saying ピザでいい.  At first I thought I was invited to a delivery pizza but it turned out her girlfriend was going to come from her bakery with pizzas fresh from the oven.  It was clearly a case for which がいい was better.

Still, がいい can cause problems too.  Since it implies that you are not satisfied with something any less, people often avoid using this phrase out of fear of sounding boorish.


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## Nino83

Thank you Flaminius.
So, in general, if more things are offered (or more options are available) it's better to use _de ii_ because it means that you're satisfied, that something is sufficiently satisfying. On the other hand, if the person offers you something special, it's better to use _ga ii_, because you underline that you appreciate his/her efforts, is it right?


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## uchi.m

In Flaminiusさん's usage of -de ii, I can smell a little bit of enryo.

Even if water would suffice for your tastes, a Westerner wouldn't mind picking one of the choices among the ones given --- tea, coffee, even beer. Water, in this scenario, for a Japanese's point of view, would just be a cop-out, that is, serving the purpose of engrossing the variety of choices given whilst leaving to the host the burden to go ahead and pick what they think is best for all involved --- it could get to the point you'd want to go fetching some water in the nearby supermarket if you are not aware of the subtleties of the Japanese culture, given the "due diligence" with which the guest "hints" you about the water.

-ga ii shows your own likes and dislikes; therefore, since this may hurt someone's face when challenged in some way, it is frowned upon.
-de(mo) ii shows that one doesn't mind having it; since this is less prone to hurt someone's face, it is more used.


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## Flaminius

Oh, my water example get confused because I added in beer.  I was not talking about the art of getting what you want by not telling exactly what you want. . It was a real-life example about free soft drink offers when you visit someone's offices.  I usually order water.  I tend to be the only one to do so and I am often asked to be bolder in my request.  Then I say glibly: 本当に水でいいんです。

[What else do I want?  It's a free takeaway!  I cannot wait till hot drinks get to room temperature or take extra care not to spill coffee over the table, which, by the way, is often cluttered with sheets of paper, PCs and used ashtrays (thankfully the last item is getting rarer and rarer to be seen).]

Anyway, if generalisation is possible, use _ga ii_ to pick your choice from the things offered but be ready to save face of your host if it turns out that they cannot procure what you wanted.


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