8

Is there an expression in Japanese that is equivalent to "as far/long as I/you X", for example "as far as I know", "as far as I'm concerned", "as much as you want", "as long as he is still alive" etc? Or perhaps are all those English expressions expressed differently in Japanese?

Some example sentences:

  1. As far as I know, it only takes 15 minutes to travel from Kyoto to Osaka by bullet train.

  2. As far as I'm concerned, that kind of questions is not suitable to be asked here.

  3. Please take as much as you want.

  4. He is working hard to achieve that golden dream of his as long as he is alive.

EDIT: One more expression: "as soon as possible"

Lukman
  • 19,805
  • 20
  • 94
  • 195

2 Answers2

8

Usually that construction is achieved by using 「限り」.

  • 知る限り (as far as one knows)
  • できる限り (as far as possible)
  • 生きている限り (as long as one lives)
  • 私に関する限り (as far as I'm concerned, i.e. "for my part [but I won't speak for others, because they disagree with me]")

The construction in your second sentence ("as far as I'm concerned") is usually expressed with other expressions like 「私にとっては」or 「自分としては」.

Edit: "As much as one wants" is usually expressed as 「好きなだけ」. That だけ can be used in other phrases, like　「必要なだけ」 (as much as one needs)

Amanda S
  • 7,829
  • 7
  • 41
  • 66
  • I knew 限り is used in set-phrase できる限り but I didn't know I could attach it to any verbs. Thanks! Owh one more thing, can I attach it to adjective, for example 早い限り to say "as soon as possible"? – Lukman Aug 09 '11 at 07:07
  • No,「早い限り」would mean "as long as it's early." You can think of 「限り」as "extent." 知る限り means "to the extent of my knowledge," and 早い限り means "to the extent that it's early." But I almost never see 限り attached to adjectives, for what it's worth. – Amanda S Aug 09 '11 at 07:26
  • How do we say "as soon as possible" then? 早められる限り = to the extent of you are able to hasten? – Lukman Aug 09 '11 at 07:55
  • 3
    @Lukman: できるだけ早く。 – Axioplase Aug 09 '11 at 09:40
  • 3
    @Lukman: なるべく早く is another option. (The difference was addressed here.) – Derek Schaab Aug 09 '11 at 12:40
8

As far as I know,

知っている限り(では)

As far as I'm concerned

私にとっては

Please take as much as you want.

御自由におとりになってください。
好きなだけおとりになってください。

as long he is alive.

生きているうちに

as soon as possible

できるだけ早く

Axioplase
  • 12,202
  • 30
  • 49
  • Is using multiple constructs as you suggested better than Tsuyoshi's suggestion of using 限り? – Lukman Aug 09 '11 at 07:11
  • Tsuyoshi did not suggest anything. Amanda did. And I'm using several constructs, because there is no reason for one construct in language A to be mapped to one construct in langage B… – Axioplase Aug 09 '11 at 09:40
  • Oops .. got confused between two browser tabs :P .. anyway thanks. – Lukman Aug 09 '11 at 09:47