っていう
っていう
expression
called, named, that says, I mean
1.
called, named
Casual quotative expression used to identify or name something.
寿司っていう食べ物を知ってる？
Do you know the food called sushi?
田中っていう人から電話があった。
There was a call from someone named Tanaka.
2.
that says, meaning that
Used to quote or explain what something means or what was said.
「ありがとう」っていう意味だよ。
It means 'thank you.'
無理っていうか、難しいね。
It's not impossible, but it is difficult.
ETYMOLOGY: Casual contraction of と言う (to say/call).
FORMALITY SCALE:
- と言う/という: formal/written
- っていう: casual spoken
- って: even more casual
COMMON PATTERNS:
- Xっていう + noun: "a noun called X"
- 「〜」っていう: quoting speech
- 〜っていうか: "or rather," "I mean"
- 〜っていうこと: "the fact that," "meaning"
VARIANT FORMS:
- っていう: standard casual
- ってゆう: more casual/slangy
- つう: very casual contraction
- ちゅう: dialectal (Kansai)
FOLLOWED BY:
- っていうか (or rather)
- っていうと (speaking of)
- っていうより (rather than saying)
- っていうのは (the thing is)
NOTE: Often written in hiragana even when という would use kanji.