どうでもいい
Dou demo ii
The English phrase 'who cares' is translated into Japanese as どうでもいい (Dou demo ii).
どうでもいい is used as a reply to an unimportant statement. It can also function as an adjective to describe a topic that is trivial or irrelevant. When you want to emphasize a complete disregard for someone's identity or presence, you can use the phrase 誰かなんてどうでもいい, which means 'whoever doesn't matter' or 'who cares who it is'.
Meaning: reply to an unimportant statement (phrase)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of how/in what way (どう), even/also (でも) and good/fine (いい), literally meaning 'it is fine even in any way'.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
For a more polite and formal expression, you can use どうでもいいです, which means 'It doesn't matter' or 'I don't care'. In informal settings, you can use どうでもいいよ. Adding the particle よ at the end of どうでもいい makes the phrase sound more dismissive and colloquial, often translated as 'who cares' or 'whatever'.
How does it change in a sentence?
Adding です to the end of the phrase makes it grammatically polite.
How do you pronounce it?
Dou demo ii
Did you know?
- Using どうでもいい in a relationship context can be more damaging than a direct argument because it signals a total lack of interest, which is a significant social taboo in Japan.
- Because the phrase ends with the adjective いい, it can be used to describe a person's character in a very specific, albeit slightly strange, way. Describing someone as どうでもいい人 implies they are a person who is inconsequential or has no impact on the world.
- If you use どうでもいい in a professional setting, it can come across as much more aggressive than its English counterpart. In a business context, it may sound like you are completely abandoning your responsibilities or your interest in the project.
Examples in context
- どうでもいいでしょう？Who cares?This example shows the use of どうでもいい in a question.Tatoeba #11041785 by small_snow, translation #40434 by CK
- 誰のせいとか、どうでもいいいよ。Who cares whose fault it is?This example shows how to use どうでもいい to express that certain details do not matter.Tatoeba #12779135 by bunbuku, translation #4665593 by CK
- そんなこと、どうでもいいよ。Sonna koto, dou demo ii yo.Who cares about something like that.
Example conversation
Hiyori and Hiroto are arguing about which color to use for a poster.
- 陽葵 Himari青色より水色のほうがいいと思うよ。aoiro yori mizuiro no hou ga ii to omou yo.I think light blue is better than dark blue.
- 大翔 Hirotoどっちでもどうでもいいよ。dotchi demo dou demo ii yo.Who cares which one it is.
- 陽葵 Himari本当に気にしなくていいの？hontou ni ki ni shinakute ii no?Do you really not care?
- 大翔 Hirotoうん、どっちでもいい。un, dotchi demo ii.Yeah, either is fine.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
