〜はまだしも / 〜ならまだしも wa madashimo / nara madashimo

〜はまだしも / 〜ならまだしも（wa madashimo / nara madashimo）means “if it were ~ it'd be (more) acceptable, but ~”. Concedes that one case would be tolerable, then contrasts it with a worse reality that is not. Formation: N / Aい / V普通形 + ならまだしも、Nは + まだしも

if it were ~ it'd be (more) acceptable, but ~

N2

Formation

N / Aい / V普通形 + ならまだしも、Nは + まだしも

Explanation

Concedes that one case would be tolerable, then contrasts it with a worse reality that is not. 'If it were just ~, that'd be one thing, but...'. The second clause states the actual, unacceptable situation.

Examples

一度ならまだしも、毎日遅刻するのはさすがに問題だ。
いちどならまだしも、まいにちちこくするのはさすがにもんだいだ。
Once would be one thing, but being late every day is really a problem.
子どもはまだしも、大人がそんなマナーを知らないのは恥ずかしい。
こどもはまだしも、おとながそんなマナーをしらないのははずかしい。
A child would be one thing, but for an adult not to know such manners is embarrassing.

Note

ならまだしも attaches to N / Aい / verbs / clauses; はまだしも mainly to nouns. The acceptable case comes first, the unacceptable reality second.

FAQ

〜はまだしも / 〜ならまだしも — what does it mean and how is it used?

if it were ~ it'd be (more) acceptable, but ~. Concedes that one case would be tolerable, then contrasts it with a worse reality that is not. 'If it were just ~, that'd be one thing, but...'. The second clause states the actual, unacceptable situation.

〜はまだしも / 〜ならまだしも — how do you form it?

N / Aい / V普通形 + ならまだしも、Nは + まだしも

〜はまだしも / 〜ならまだしも — any usage notes?

ならまだしも attaches to N / Aい / verbs / clauses; はまだしも mainly to nouns. The acceptable case comes first, the unacceptable reality second.

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