Permission: ～て（も）いい
In this lesson, we will study how the pattern ～て（も）いい pertains to permission. In doing so, we will also see how the inclusion of も are the lack thereof affects the nuance of the statement.
Variation Note: For て forms in which て manifests as で, there is NO difference in how this particle works. Meaning ～て（も））＝ ～で（も）いい.
～てもいいですか？
The first use of this pattern that students learn is ～てもいいですか, which is the polite speech means of asking someone if it is alright to do something. Of course, this can also be rendered in the negative as ～なくてもいいですか, as will be true for every facet of this grammar discussed in this lesson.
1. 鉛筆で書いてもいいですか。
Is it alright if I write with a pencil?
2. お願いしてもいいですか。
May I ask a favor of you?
3. スカイプのカメラをオンにしなくてもいいですか。
Is it alright if I do not turn on my camera in Skype?
Granted, as this is polite speech, we may see いい replaced with synonymous expressions such as よい (its formal rendition), よろしい (honorific speech), etc.
4. ちょっと個人的な質問をしてもよいですか。
May I ask a somewhat personal question?
5. もう一点伺ってよろしいですか。
May I inquire about one more thing?
6. 黒田社長、私達はこちらに座ってもよろしいですか。
President Kuroda, may we sit down here?
We may also see です swapped out with でしょう to lessen the directness of the question further, which in turn heightens the formality.
7. お客様が来られるので、会議室を使用してもよろしいでしょうか。
My client is coming, so may I use the meeting room?
8. 食後に服用してもよいでしょうか。
Is it alright if I take (the medicine) after (my) meal?
9. 社長、この本をお借りしてもよろしいでしょうか。(Humble Speech)
President, may I borrow this book?
10. 袋に入れなくてもよろしいですか。
Is it already to not put (this/it) in a bag?
Conversely, in plain speech, ～てもいい？ – spoken with a rising question intonation – will be heard.
11. キスしてもいい？
Is it okay if I kiss (you)?
12. 撫でてもいい？
(Towards a dog/cat): Can I pet you?
It must be noted that the presence of the particle の・ん in questions, regardless of speech style, affects the tone of the question greatly. Depending on one’s intonation, の・ん may imply shock, concern, or even indicate the speaker’s reluctance to go about performing the action without permission.
13. 学校に行かなくてもいいの？
(You/me) not going to school is fine?
14. 「〇〇」って言ってもいいんですか。
Is it alright to say the word “##”?
15. あの壁も撤去してもよろしいのですか。
Is it alright to remove that wall too?
16. 今日中に終わらせなくてもいいの？
Is it alright if I don’t finish it today?
When paired with verbs which describe states as opposed to actions, the question posed is the concern of whether allowing the result as the status quo is permissible or not.
17. 婚約者に言えないことってあってもいいのですか。
Is it alright to have stuff you can’t tell your fiancé(e)?
18. では、筋肉痛は運動で起こってもいいのでしょうか。
Now then, is it alright to have muscle pain from exercise?
19. 良いことが起こらなくてもいい。
It’s fine (to me) if something good doesn’t happen.
20. 巨人に食べられてもいいのか？
Is being eaten by a giant really alright?!
Grammar Note: ～のか often creates rhetorical questions, as is the case in Ex. 20.
Of course, when ～てもいい is used in the affirmative – not in a question – then it establishes that the situation/action at hand is permissible.
21. お酒を飲んでもいいよ。
It’s ok to drink, you know?
22. 狭くてもいいので、空き部屋を全部見せていただきたいと思います。
It’s alright for (them) to be small, so I would like (for you) to show me all of (your) vacant rooms.
23. 捨ててもいいや。
Aah, it’s fine to throw (it) away.
24. 例文がたくさんありますから、全部（を）校正しなくてもいいです。
Because there so many example sentences, it’s alright if you don’t proofread them all.
25. 嫌なら断ってもいいよ？
You know, if you’re not willing, you could say no?
26. そんなにムキにならなくてもいいのに。
You don’t have to get so worked up about it.
～ていい
Putting aside whether you are creating an affirmative statement or question, the omission of も does affect how the statement is perceived. The literal interpretation of も is to indicate “even,” which in turn causes the statement/question to sound less indirect, implying that while the speaker is affirming/confirming permission, it is still likely that that permission is not carried out.
27. すみません、タバコを吸ってもいいですか。
Excuse me, is it alright if I smoke?
28. あのう、お隣に座ってもよろしいですか。
Um, is it fine for me to sit by you?
It is perceivable for Ex. 27 to be asked on another person’s behalf. As for Ex. 28, the speaker is likely prepared to still be told no.
Conversely, when も is omitted, there is a far firmer desire to perform the action or have a situation be so. This is a result of the phrase being rendered more directly.
Though it may be tempting to state that this heightened directness affects the formality of the sentence, that is not quite the case, as the substance of the statement/question differs by this tighter focus on the speaker’s desire. However, it is true that in situations that warrant being as formal as possible that utilizing less direct speech patterns such as ～てもいい（？）become most desirable. Likewise, in casual speech, we see that も is omitted at higher rates because people are more likely to state their desires more directly when in the company of friends/family.
29. お母ちゃん！今夜映画を観ていい？
Mom! Can I see a movie tonight?
30. 箱を開けてよろしいですか。
May I open the box?
As Ex. 31 demonstrates, there is nothing inherently less formal about ～ていい, as ～てよろしい, which clearly uses honorific speech, is perfectly grammatical. We see that the reason for why the speaker asked the question in this manner is because they are in all likelihood going to open the box. The same logic also applies for Exs. 32-33.
32. 入ってよろしいでしょうか。
May I come in?
33. こちらにご記入をいただいてよろしいですか。
May I have you fill this out here?
Sentence Note: The speaker in Ex. 33 is likely a clerk in some industry, and in the event said person must have a client fill something out, the reality of the situation is that it needs to be filled out regardless, but the speaker still feels compelled to seek the listener’s permission.
34. 無理に賛成していただかなくてよろしいのですよ。
It is quite alright for you to not push yourself to agree (with this) (on our behalf).
35. そう扱ってよいかは研究者の間で意見が割れている。
As for whether to treat (it) as such, opinions are split among researchers.
Permission ≠ Request
許可≠依頼
～て（も）いい, as has been demonstrated, pertains to permission, but “permission” is not the same thing as “requesting” someone to do something. As we have seen, ～て（も）いい is either about the desired action of the speaker (agent) or the affected party of a permissible status quo. In either event, who is doing what is not the same as requesting someone to do something.
Take, for instance, the verb 借りる (to borrow). While there is nothing inherently ungrammatical with 借りてもいい（？）, even if it is the listener who is going to lend whatever item to the speaker, the focus is on the speaker’s desire to borrow; no request to the listener is being made.
Now, the ‘giver’ may still be invoked with 借りる, but no request is being issued to the listener. Here, in Ex. 36 we see that the core of the question is about whether borrowing from friends is alright and not asking said friends to allow the borrowing.
36. 友達から借りてもいいですか。
Is it alright if I borrow from a friend?
Following this logic, consider the opposite of 借りる: 貸す (to lend). Likewise, 貸してもいい “alright to lend” is not ungrammatical, but it cannot be used to make a request of someone to lend to the speaker.
To make a request to the listener, we must, first and foremost, use a giving/receiving verb (授受動詞) with ～て: ～てくれる・もらう, etc.
37a. 10万円を借りてもよろしいですか。X
37b. 10万円を貸していただけませんか。〇
Could I please have you lend me 100 thousand yen?
38. 細かいのがないので、ちょっと10円｛借りてもいい X・貸してくれない｝？
I don’t have small change, so could I borrow 10 yen?
39a. 先生に〇〇を習ってもいいですか？ X
39b. 先生、〇〇を教えていただけませんか。〇
Sensei, may I have you teach me ##?
～て結構だ
Instead of いい or its direct variants, other adjectives pertaining to allowing a situation may be used instead. One such alternative is using the adjectival noun 結構だ. However, despite directly translating as “sufficient,” when it appears after て, the resulting statement indicates frustration, indifference, and/or an ironic take on the situation at hand not being entirely satisfactory at all.
40. もう来なくて結構だ。
Ugh, it’s fine if you don’t come.
41. 無理やり理屈を合わせなくて結構だ。
There’s no point in aimlessly making sense of it.
If も were to be inserted here, 結構だ would still maintain its level of indifference, but the tone-leveling effect も is not congruent with sarcasm/irony. In either case, ～て（も）結構だ establishes that the status quo is good enough in light of the other party’s proposal/suggestion being too hard of a pill for the speaker to swallow.
42. どう言っても結構だ。
No matter what you say, I’m/it’s fine (as is).
～て（も）大丈夫だ
Of course, it is possible to use the adjectival noun 大丈夫だ (to be alright/okay). Though other phrases are typically chosen in very formal scenarios, it is by and large interchangeable with ～て（も）いい.
43. 遅れても大丈夫（だ）！
It’s OK if you’re late!
44. 慌てなくても大丈夫ですよ。
It’s okay not to fret.
45. 野菜って、犬が食べても大丈夫？
Are vegetables OK for dogs to eat?
46. 彼氏を頼りにして大丈夫なの？
Is it really OK to rely on your boyfriend?
When used with stative verbs, though, a change in nuance which would not be possible with ～て（も）いい can be observed, which is that 大丈夫だ then pertains to the people in question (either the speaker or the speaker and listener) being alright in the physical sense of safety.
47. 何があっても大丈夫！
We’ll be alright no matter what happens!
48. 何があってもいい。
I’m fine with whatever happens.
～て（も）いい w/ Nouns & Adjectives
Although we have only seen this pattern with verbs up to this point, it is not restricted to them. In fact, you may see it used with nouns, adjectives, as well as adjectival nouns.
Just as is the case with stative verbs, ～て（も）いい denotes the scenario at hand as being acceptable/permissible, although there is likely a more suitable alternative out there – which is especially implied with the inclusion of も.
Remember that for any of these other predicate types, we need to use the 連用形. With noun-predicates and adjectival-noun predicates, the 連用形 is で～ itself, which may also be viewed as the て form of the copula.
| Part of Speech | ～て（も）いい |
| Nouns | お茶で（も）いい Tea is fine |
| Adjectives | 古くて（も）いい Is fine if old |
| Adjectival Nouns | 変で（も）いい Is fine being strange |
Translation Note: With the inclusion of も, adding “even” to the translation makes its role clearer.
49. コーヒーやお茶でもいいですか？
Would coffee, tea, or the like be fine?
50. 何でもいいよ。
Anything is fine.
51. 曖昧でいいよ。
It’s fine to be vague.
52. やっぱり古くてもいいものは良い。
Yep, things that are fine old really are good.
53. 友達が全員可愛くていいなと思ってしまいます。
I end up thinking how nice it’d be if all my friends were cute.
54. ちょっと寒いから氷なしでいいかしら？
Since it’s a little cold (out), I suppose no ice would be alright?
When conjugating the copula into its negative て form to then use it with ～いい, it is customary for it to either appear as ～でなくて or colloquially as ～じゃなくて. However, ～ではなくて is fairly rare, as the contrastive nature of は generally causes the subordinate clause headed by て to not modify いい adverbially as it normally would. In other words, if a comma can intervene between ～ではなくて and ～いい, that sentence would not be exemplary of this grammar point, but the presence of the contrastive は would explain how the clauses of the sentence are interacting.
55. みんなと同じでもいいし、みんなと同じじゃなくてもいい。
It’s OK to be the same as everyone, and it’s OK to not be the same as everyone.
56. 永遠｛じゃ・で・では｝なくてもいいから、そばにいて。
It does not have to be forever, but please stay by my side.
～なくてもいい vs ～ないでもいい
As has been demonstrated throughout this lesson, ～て（も）いい works the same whether the て form is positive or negative. What is not often discussed about this grammar point is how ～なくても can, in fact, be rendered as ～ないでも.
Though highly dialectal and colloquial, its use is pervasive in conversation. However, labeling it is as ungrammatical because of this would not be accurate.
57. そんな（に）心配｛しなくても ◎・しないでも 〇｝いいよ。
You don’t have to worry like that.
58. ひとりで泣か｛なくても ◎・ないでも｝いいよ。
You don’t have to cry alone.
In Western Japanese dialects, you may also hear ～んでも{いい・ええ｝, and the ～ん (= ～ない) attaches to the traditional 未然形 of verbs if there is ever to be a discrepancy. Meaning, しなくてもいい → せんでも｛いい・ええ｝.
59a. そない気にせんでもええやろ？（関西弁）
59b. そんなに気にしなくてもいいだろう？（標準語）
You don’t need to be so concerned, y’know?
60a. 今回はやらんで（も）ええか。（関西弁）
60b. 今回はやらなくて（も）いいか。（標準語）
Guess it’s fine if I don’t do it this time.