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目を逸らしながらだと撫でられますよ

Tl: While avoiding his eyes, you can pet him.

But what is the だと in ながらだと?

Bluegate
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  • 逸らしながら would suggest the person is trying petting it but not gazing at it at the same time. Gazing at it would let it realize that the person has intention to pet it and it would dislike that to try getting away from it, so not gazing at it is a strategy to pet it successfully. – MNEMO Jul 31 '23 at 04:11

1 Answers1

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だと means "if (it's)", "if (we use)", "if (you mean)", etc. It's a relatively informal expression. Note that this と is not the quotative particle but the と meaning "if/when". See: Function of "だと"

だと mainly takes a noun:

  • 彼だと彼女に勝てないだろう。
    If it's him, he wouldn't be able to beat her.
  • 明日だと10時が空いています。
    (If you like) tomorrow, 10:00 is available.

But it can also take adverbial expressions such as ゆっくり, 赤く, 急いで, いっしょに, ～から, and ～ながら. This is a convenient way of applying the meaning of "if" without explicitly saying the corresponding verb:

  • 白く塗るのはいいが、赤くだと目立ってしまう。
    = 白く塗るのはいいが、赤く塗ると目立ってしまう。
    Painting it white is fine, but if you paint it red, it would stand out.
  • ゆっくりだと間に合いませんよ。
    = ゆっくりやると間に合いませんよ。
    If you do it slowly, you will not make it in time.
  • 明日を待ってからだと遅すぎます。
    = 明日を待ってから出発すると遅すぎます。
    If we depart after waiting for tomorrow, it would be too late.
  • 目を逸らしながらだと撫でられますよ。
    = 目をそらしながら撫でると撫でられますよ。
    You can pet it if you do it while looking away from it.
naruto
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