Breakdown of gakkou de ha, danzyo ga onazi tyansu wo moteru you ni byoudou ga taisetu da to sensei ga yoku iu.
Questions & Answers about gakkou de ha, danzyo ga onazi tyansu wo moteru you ni byoudou ga taisetu da to sensei ga yoku iu.
で marks the place where something happens: 学校で = “at school / in school.”
When you add は after で, it makes 学校で the topic (and often gives a slight contrast):
- 学校で = at school (just a location marker)
- 学校では = as for (things) at school / in school, … (topic, possibly contrasted with other places)
So 学校では、… can be understood as:
- “At school, (speaking about the school context,) …”
and it may imply “at school (as opposed to at home, in society, etc.) …”
が marks 男女 as the grammatical subject of the verb phrase that follows: 同じチャンスを持てる.
- 男女が同じチャンスを持てる
“boys and girls can have the same chances”
If you used 男女は, you would be making 男女 the topic instead:
- 男女は同じチャンスを持てるように…
“As for boys and girls, (so that) they can have the same chances, …”
Both are grammatically possible, but here the writer chose to highlight 男女 specifically as the doer/experiencer of “being able to have the same chances,” so が fits well.
Also, the sentence already uses は with 学校で. It’s common to have one clear topic (学校では) and then use が to mark subjects inside that topic.
Literally, 男女 (だんじょ) means “male and female.”
The natural English translation depends on the context:
- In a school sentence like this, it’s usually interpreted as:
- “boys and girls,” “male and female students”
- In a more general / adult context, it could be:
- “men and women”
So here, in a school setting, 男女 is best understood as “boys and girls” or “male and female students.”
In Japanese, 同じ directly modifies a noun, just like an adjective:
- 同じチャンス = “the same chances / equal chances”
You do not insert の between 同じ and the noun in this kind of phrase.
So:
- ✅ 同じチャンス
- ❌ 同じのチャンス (unnatural here)
Think of 同じ as working like 大きい:
- 大きい家 = big house
- 同じチャンス = same chance(s)
持てる is the potential form of 持つ (“to hold / to have”), so:
- チャンスを持つ = “to have a chance”
- チャンスを持てる = “to be able to have a chance / to be able to get a chance”
So 男女が同じチャンスを持てる focuses on the ability / possibility of getting those chances.
You could say:
- 男女が同じチャンスがあるように…
but it sounds a bit clunkier with two が in a row, and チャンスがある is more like “there are chances (for them)” rather than “they can have / get chances.”
チャンスを持てる keeps 男女 clearly as the subject who can “hold”/”have” the chances.
Here, ように is used after a verb in a form that expresses possibility/aim, and it means roughly “so that / in order that”.
- 男女が同じチャンスを持てるように
= “so that boys and girls can have the same chances”
Then comes:
- 平等が大切だ
= “equality is important”
Put together:
- 男女が同じチャンスを持てるように、平等が大切だ
= “Equality is important so that boys and girls can have the same chances.”
So V‑(potential) + ように expresses a goal or desired result, and the next part explains what is needed/important for that goal.
Yes, having multiple が in one sentence is completely normal in Japanese.
Here’s the structure (simplified):
- [学校では]、[男女が同じチャンスを持てるように平等が大切だ] と 先生がよく言う。
Inside the quoted part:
- 男女が = subject of 持てる (“boys and girls can have …”)
- 平等が = subject of 大切だ (“equality is important”)
So there are two clauses inside the teacher’s statement:
- 男女が同じチャンスを持てるように
“so that boys and girls can have the same chances” - 平等が大切だ
“equality is important”
Each clause has its own が for its own subject. That’s perfectly fine.
The と here is the quotative particle, not the “and” と.
- 平等が大切だと先生がよく言う。
= “The teacher often says that equality is important.”
Structure:
- [平等が大切だ] と 言う
= “to say that [equality is important]”
So this と marks the content of what is said / thought / heard, similar to English “that …” in “He said that …”
大切だ is the plain form, and 大切です is the polite form of the same predicate.
Here, the whole quote is in the teacher’s own words (or at least paraphrased):
- 平等が大切だ
This is a neutral, plain statement. Teachers often use the plain form when stating general truths, especially if speaking casually or to students in an informal setting.
The main verb 言う is also in the plain form (言う, not 言います), which matches.
So the entire sentence is in plain style:
- 平等が大切だと先生がよく言う。
If you wanted polite style, you’d generally make the whole thing polite:
- 平等が大切だと先生がよく言います。
- Or, in a fully polite quote: 平等が大切ですと先生がよくおっしゃいます。
In this context, よく means “often / frequently.”
- 先生がよく言う = “the teacher often says (that) …”
よく can also mean “well” (e.g., よく分かる = “understand well”), but with verbs like 言う, 聞く, 行く, it often means “often / frequently.”
Here, the sentence is clearly about something the teacher repeats many times, so “often” is the right meaning.
Yes, that word order is natural and keeps essentially the same meaning:
- 先生は学校でよく「平等が大切だ」と言う。
Differences in nuance/order:
- Original: 学校では、男女が…平等が大切だと先生がよく言う。
- Starts by setting 学校 as the topic/scene.
- 先生が appears later; the focus begins more with the school context.
- Reordered: 先生は学校でよく「平等が大切だ」と言う。
- Starts with 先生は, so the teacher is the topic.
- Sounds like you’re mainly talking about what the teacher habitually says.
Both are correct; Japanese word order is flexible, as long as the particles (は, が, を, に, で, と, etc.) are clear.
平等 (びょうどう) means equality, especially in the sense that everyone should be treated the same, with no discrimination.
- 平等が大切だ = “Equality is important.”
Related words:
- 公平 (こうへい) = fairness / impartiality
- Emphasis on being fair and just, not biased.
- 均等 (きんとう) = equal distribution / evenness
- Emphasis on equal amounts or portions.
In a sentence about 男女 and チャンス, 平等 is the most natural word because we are talking about equality of treatment and opportunities between genders, not just equal shares of something or abstract fairness in a process.