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I've come across something and always wondered about it, what is the meaning of

"なんてこったいこりゃいったい"?

I assume (but I'm not quite sure) that it's this: to show disbelief or surprise

Also, is this something actually used? (and if it is, in what context?)

rebuuilt
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ANP1551
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2 Answers2

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なんてこったいこりゃいったい

is a colloquial, slurred pronunciation of 「なんてことだい、これはいったい」

which is a reversed version (倒置) of 「これはいったい、なんてことだい？」

To break it down...

なんて -- pronoun [何]{なん} + case particle (っ)て; ≂「なんという」
こったい -- noun こと (事) + copula だ + sentence ending particle い (≂よ)
こりゃ -- pronoun これ + particle は
いったい -- noun 一体 (used for emphasis in questions; "on earth")

So it literally means... "What kind of thing on earth is this?" "What on earth is the matter?" -- used as an exclamation, like "What the hell is this?"

chocolate
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    By the way the phrase sounds a bit funny to me cos こったい is rhyming with いったい ... なんか冗談みたいで滑稽な感じ？ – chocolate Oct 02 '17 at 02:17
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Yes it is, but there your text has two parts:

なんてこった （い）

which is an exclamation that roughly translates to "oh no", and

こりゃいったい

which means "just what (is this)...".

keithmaxx
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