More もの Expressions

Table of Contents

Basically every もの combination is an expression.
This page covers even more of them:

ものがある – There’s something X about…/Feels like
ものか – No way
ないものか/ないものだろうか – It would be nice if..
ものなら – If it were/is possible…
もので/ものだから – Reason, so inevitably…
というものだ – That is what X is.
というものではない – Not necessarily

ものがある

Feels like
Plain, non-past verb + ものがある
い Adjective + ものがある
な Adjective + なものがある

ものがある means “there’s something X about…”.
It indicates a feeling or impression you have about something.
ものがある frequently pairs with には and のは

Examples

この絵には悲しいものがある
There’s something sad about this picture”.
彼のしぐさにはなんか、怒っているようなものがある
There’s something angry about his movements.
誰もいないのは、怖いものがある
There’s something scary about no one being there.
その猫には人間のようなものがある。
There’s something human-like about that cat.

ものか

No way
Plain form verb/adjective + ものか

ものか means “no way”. It is equivalent to adding 絶対 + ない to the verb.
A similar expression is わけがない.

ものか may alternatively appear as ものですか, もんか、or もんですか.
ものか and especially もんか are fairly masculine expressions.

Examples

彼にいじめられたから、助けるもんか
I was bullied by him, so there’s no way I’m going to help him.
彼女を愛しているから、見捨てるものか
I love her, so there’s no way I’m going to abandon her.
あんなにひどいこと言った人が優しいものか
There’s no way someone who said something that mean is a nice person.

ないものか

It would be nice if..
Plain negative form verb + ものか

ないものか means something like “Is there really no way”, and is used like “it would be nice if…”.
It is typically used when the thing you want is unlikely to happen.

Frequently used with ならない

ないものか may also be seen as ないものだろうか.

Examples

給料はもうすこし上がらないものだろうか
It would be nice if my salary would go up a little more.
彼は優しく注意しないものか
Can’t he tell people off more nicely.
この風は早く治らないものだろうか
It would be nice if this cold would get better fast.
このウエブサイトは人気にならないものか
It would be nice if this website became popular.

ものなら

If it were possible
Potential + ものなら
Plain form verb + ものなら (rare, limited, specific verbs)

ものなら means “If it were possible” or “If its possible”.
ものなら expresses a high degree of doubt about the plausibility of something.
It is basically only used with the potential form of verbs.
It most commonly pairs with できる.
It tends to be followed by ～たい、ほしい、or みろ (angry),

In cases where it is not used with a potential form, it will either be a word like わかる (already potential), or いる/ある.

Examples

できるものならやってみろ
If you think you can do it, just try. (Common line in shounen Anime, like Dragonball).
食べられるものなら食べたい
I’d like to eat it if I could.
説明でわかるものなら説明してほしい
If I could understand from an explanation, I’d like you to explain it to me. (Its not going to work).
行けるものなら生きてみたいだ
If I could go, I would like to go an see.

もので

Inevitably
Plain form verb/い Adjective + もので
Noun/な Adjective + なもので

もので objectively gives the reason that caused an unavoidable situation.
It is typically used for excuses.
The closest English equivalent is something like: “Unfortunately there was a…”. or “inevitably“

Cause + もので + Unavoidable result

It adds more emphasis to the cause than から or ので

This pattern may also appear as ものだから, もんで、もんだから、or ものですから

Extra information:
絵でわかる suggests this pattern is used for “unforeseen” or “undesirable” causes.
Tanosuke suggests this pattern has a nuance of “仕方がない”. This appears to be more correct.

Examples

風邪をひいたもので、作成ができなかったんだ。
I caught a cold, so inevitably I wasn’t able to make anything.
2－3年書かなかった漢字なもので、書き方を忘れた。
I hadn’t wrote the kanji for 2 or 3 years, so inevitably I forgot how to write it.
あまりにも美しい人なもので、異性にはすっごく人気
They are beautiful, so they are inevitably extremely popular with the opposite sex.
工事があったものだから、遅れてしまった
There was (road) construction, so inevitably I was late.

というものだ

That is what X is
Plain form word + というものだ
＊Drop だ from nouns and な Adjectives

というものだ means something like “That is what X is”.
It is used to express what the speaker believes to be true, or what is commonly accepted as true.
It may help to think of this pattern as meaning “That’s what I think it is”.

This pattern is typically used to give an example of what a word “means” or “is”.
It is not used to define a word, but rather give an example.
Such as “Supporting each other in good times and bad, that is what marriage is“.
The most common pattern is:

Description/Example は Wordというものだ

Examples

辛い時も嬉しい時も支え合うのは夫婦というものだ.
Supporting each other in bad times and happy times, that’s what a married couple is.
人を助けるのは当然というものだ (Source)
Of course It’s natural to help people. (Its commonly thought that helping people is natural)
何も考えずに飛び込むのは無謀というものだ
Jumping in without thinking, that’s what “reckless” is.
自分を犠牲にして、他人を助けるのは英雄というものだ
Someone who sacrifices themselves to save others, that’s what (I think) a hero is.
ベテランも、新人も同じ給料なのは、不公平というものだ。
Veterans and new people getting the same pay is what unfair is.

というものではない

Not Necessarily
Plain form word + というものではない
＊Drop だ from nouns and な Adjectives

というものではない means “Not necessarily” or “That doesn’t mean its..”.
It is used to refute a conclusion.
Basically a more formal version of わけじゃない

Annoyingly it is unrelated in meaning to というものだ and ものではない.
(If it helps, you can think of というものではない as “It should not be said that”)

This pattern tends to pair with qualifiers (絶対に、すぐに), and ば.

This pattern may also appear as というものでもない (Softening も)

Examples

高ければいいというものではない
Its not necessarily good if its expensive. (Just because its expensive doesn’t mean its good).
大きいほうが勝つというものでもない
The bigger one isn’t necessarily going to win.
絶対に治らないというものではない
Its not necessarily never going to get better.
はみ出し者は絶対に悪というものではない
People who don’t fit in aren’t necessarily bad/evil.