yume ni shite wa, totemo genjitsuteki da to tomodachi ni iwaremashita.

friend

Breakdown of yume ni shite wa, totemo genjitsuteki da to tomodachi ni iwaremashita.

• に: indirect object particle
• とても: very
• と: quotative particle
• だ: to be
• 言いう: to say
• 〜れる: passive form
• 夢ゆめ: dream
• に して は: considering; for
• 現実的げんじつてき: realistic

Questions & Answers about yume ni shite wa, totemo genjitsuteki da to tomodachi ni iwaremashita.

In the phrase 夢にしては, what does にしては mean exactly?

〜にしては is a fixed pattern that means “for ~ / considering that ~ / for someone/something who is ~” and often implies that the result is unexpected compared to what you’d normally imagine.

So:

• 夢にしては ≈ “for a dream / considering it’s a dream”
• It implies: “Given that it’s only a dream, it’s surprisingly realistic.”

Other examples:

• 子ども にしては よく頑張った。
  = For a child, (he/she) did very well.
• 初めて にしては 上手ですね。
  = Considering it’s your first time, you’re good.

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Why is it 夢にしては and not something like 夢には or 夢としては?

These patterns have different functions:

• N にしては
  → “for N / considering N”, with a sense of unexpectedness.

  • 夢にしてはとても現実的だ。
    = For a dream, it’s very realistic (surprisingly realistic).

• N には
  → topic marker (は) attached to に, often “as for N / for N (in some context)”.

  • 夢にはいろいろな種類があります。
    = As for dreams, there are various types.
    This doesn’t by itself carry the “unexpected” nuance.

• N としては
  → “as N / in the role of N / from the standpoint of N”.

  • 夢としては悪くない。
    = As a dream, it’s not bad.
    This speaks more about its role/category, not the “surprisingly X for a dream” feeling.

So 夢にしては is chosen here specifically to give the nuance:
“Surprisingly realistic for a dream.”

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Who is actually the subject of this sentence? There is no “I” or “my dream” mentioned.

Japanese often omits subjects when they’re obvious from context.

In this sentence:

夢にしては、　とても　現実的　だ　と　友達　に　言われました。

A natural underlying structure (in English) is:

(I) was told by (a) friend that (my) dream is very realistic for a dream.

So:

• The person who has the dream is “I” (私), omitted because it’s obvious the speaker is talking about their own dream.
• The topic/subject of 現実的だ is the dream (also understood from context).

You could spell it out like:

• 私は、自分の夢は、夢にしてはとても現実的だと友達に言われました。
  but in natural speech, that’s too heavy, so most of it gets dropped.

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Why is there だ before と? What does だと do?

だ is the plain copula (“is / am / are”), and と is the quotation particle.

So 現実的だと literally means:

“(that it) is realistic” (as a quoted clause)

Structure:

• 現実的だ = “(it) is realistic” (plain form)
• 〜と 言われました = “was told that ~”

Put together:

• 現実的だ と 言われました
  = “I was told that (it) is realistic.”

In Japanese, when you quote a statement with だ/です, と often comes right after the plain form だ:

• うれしい と 思う。 = I think (it’s) happy.
• 学生 だと 知っている。 = I know (he/she) is a student.
• 危ない と 言われた。 = I was told (it’s) dangerous.

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What is the function of と here? Is it the same と as in “and”?

No, this と is not the “and” と; it is the quotation particle.

In 〜だと友達に言われました:

• と marks what is being said / thought / heard.
• It’s like quotation marks or “that” in English.

Patterns:

• 〜と 言う = say that ~
• 〜と 思う = think that ~
• 〜と 聞く = hear that ~

So:

• 現実的だ と 友達に言われました
  = I was told (by a friend) that it is realistic.

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Why is it 言いました in passive form (言われました) instead of just “my friend said”?

言われました is the passive of 言いました:

• 言いました = (someone) said
• 言われました = (I) was told (by someone)

In this sentence, the speaker wants to express:

“I was told by my friend that ~.”

The passive is natural because the focus is on what was said to the speaker, not on what the friend did.

Compare:

1. 友達が「夢にしてはとても現実的だ」と言いました。
   = My friend said, “For a dream, it’s very realistic.”
   (Focus: the friend speaking)

2. 夢にしてはとても現実的だと友達に言われました。
   = I was told (by my friend) that it’s very realistic for a dream.
   (Focus: me receiving that comment)

Both are correct, but (2) matches the perspective of the person recounting what was said to them.

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Why is 友達 followed by に here? I thought に was “to”, but here it looks like “by”.

You’re seeing に in a passive sentence, where it often marks the agent (“by ~”).

In active voice:

• 友達が 私に 言いました。
  = My friend said to me.

In passive voice:

• 私は 友達に 言われました。
  = I was told by my friend.

So:

• In active: 〜に often means “to” (direction of the action).
• In passive: 〜に often corresponds to “by”, marking who performs the action.

In your sentence:

• 友達に言われました
  = I was told by (a) friend.

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Why isn’t there any は or が marking the subject of “is realistic”? Who/what is 現実的だ about?

Japanese frequently omits は/が when the subject is clear from context.

In this sentence:

夢にしては、とても現実的だと友達に言われました。

The implied subject of 現実的だ is “the dream” (my dream). If we make it explicit:

• （その夢は）夢にしては、とても現実的だと友達に言われました。
  = As for that dream, I was told by a friend that, for a dream, it’s very realistic.

Because:

• The whole conversation is about a dream, and
• After 夢にしては, it’s obvious that 現実的だ is talking about that dream,

Japanese naturally leaves out その夢は or それは.

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What does 現実的 mean exactly? How is it different from just 現実?

• 現実 (げんじつ) = “reality” (a noun)
• 現実的 (げんじつてき) = “realistic” (an adjective-like word)

The 〜的 (てき) suffix often turns a noun into an adjectival word meaning “-like / -style / related to ~”.

Examples:

• 夢（dream）→ 夢的 (not really used)
• 現実（reality）→ 現実的 = realistic
• 伝統（tradition）→ 伝統的 = traditional
• 科学（science）→ 科学的 = scientific

So:

• 現実 = reality itself
• 現実的 = having the quality of reality → realistic

In the sentence:

• とても現実的だ = “(it) is very realistic.”

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Is とても here just “very”? Could I replace it with すごく or かなり?

Yes, とても here means “very” and is a neutral, standard adverb.

You can replace it with other degree adverbs, with slightly different nuance/level of formality:

• とても 現実的だ
  = very realistic (neutral, polite-friendly)
• すごく 現実的だ
  = super/very realistic (more casual, emotional)
• かなり 現実的だ
  = quite / fairly realistic (often feels a bit more measured)
• 非常に 現実的だ
  = extremely realistic (formal/written)

So depending on tone:

• 夢にしては、すごく現実的だね。 (casual)
• 夢にしては、非常に現実的だと感じました。 (formal)

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Could I change the word order, like putting 友達に at the beginning: 友達に、夢にしてはとても現実的だと言われました?

Yes, that sentence is still natural. Japanese word order is relatively flexible as long as:

1. The quoted clause comes before と.
2. The verb (here, 言われました) comes at the end.

So these are all natural:

• 夢にしては、とても現実的だと友達に言われました。
• 友達に、夢にしてはとても現実的だと言われました。
• とても現実的だと、夢にしては友達に言われました。 → a bit odd/stylistic, but grammatical

What you can’t do is break the quoted clause away from と:

• ✕ と友達に 夢にしてはとても現実的だ 言われました。
  (The quote must stay right before と.)

So, you can move 友達に, 夢にしては, and とても around somewhat, but keep:

[quoted content] + と + 言われました

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If I want to be a bit less polite or more casual, how would this sentence change?

To make it more casual, you can:

1. Change the verb ending from 〜ました (polite) to 〜た (plain).
2. Optionally add sentence-ending particles like よ, ね, etc.

Examples:

• 夢にしては、とても現実的だと友達に言われた。
  = (plain past)
• 夢にしては、とても現実的だって友達に言われた。
  = using って as a casual quotation marker
• 夢にしては、とても現実的だって友達に言われたよ。
  = adds a soft, explanatory feel

The basic structure and grammar stay the same; only the formality level changes.