Breakdown of kazoku to kenka o suruno wa kanashii desu.
Questions & Answers about kazoku to kenka o suruno wa kanashii desu.
In 家族とけんかをするのは悲しいです, the と after 家族 means “with”:
- 家族とけんかをする = to have a fight with (one’s) family
So here と is not “and” (as in “A and B”) but the “with (someone)” use of と, often seen with verbs of interaction like:
- 友だちと話す – to talk with a friend
- 彼と結婚する – to marry him
- 兄とけんかする – to fight with (my) older brother
Both けんかをする and けんかする are correct and mean “to fight / to argue / to have a quarrel”.
- けんか is a noun meaning “fight / quarrel”.
- する is “to do”.
- を marks けんか as the direct object of する.
So:
- けんかをする = literally “to do a fight”
- けんかする = the same idea, just omitting the を (which is often dropped in casual speech when する verbs are used)
In normal conversation, けんかする is extremely common.
In writing or more careful speech, けんかをする may sound a bit more formal/complete, but the meaning is essentially the same.
The の in するのは is a nominalizer: it turns the preceding verb phrase into a noun-like chunk.
- 家族とけんかをする – to fight with (one’s) family
- 家族とけんかをするの – “the act of fighting with (one’s) family” / “fighting with (one’s) family” as a thing
This allows the whole action 家族とけんかをする to function as the topic or subject-like element of the sentence.
So:
- 家族とけんかをするのは悲しいです。
≈ “As for fighting with one’s family, (it) is sad.”
→ More natural English: “Fighting with (my) family is sad.”
Without の, you couldn’t attach は directly to the verb phrase in standard Japanese. の (or こと) is needed to make it noun-like.
は is the topic marker. It shows what the sentence is “about.”
- Topic: 家族とけんかをするの – “fighting with (one’s) family”
- Comment: 悲しいです – “is sad”
So the structure is:
[家族とけんかをするのは] [悲しいです].
As for fighting with one’s family, (it) is sad.
Japanese often uses [A のは B です] to say “A is B,” where A is a verb phrase turned into a noun-like thing by の.
The sentence does not explicitly state a subject like “I” or “we”. Japanese often omits subjects when they are obvious from context.
Depending on the context, it could mean:
- “It’s sad when I fight with my family.”
- “Fighting with your family is sad.”
- “Fighting with one’s family is sad (in general).”
Grammatically, it’s neutral and general. Context (conversation, situation, previous sentences) decides whether it’s about the speaker, the listener, or a general truth.
Both are grammatically fine, but they differ in politeness:
- 悲しいです。 – polite, -masu / です style
- 悲しい。 – plain / casual style
So:
家族とけんかをするのは悲しいです。
→ Polite: appropriate for talking to someone you’re not very close to, or in formal situations.家族とけんかをするのは悲しい。
→ Casual: used with friends, family, in diaries, etc.
The meaning is the same: “(It) is sad.” The difference is only the level of politeness and formality.
です is in the non-past form, which in Japanese covers both present and general/habitual meaning.
家族とけんかをするのは悲しいです usually expresses a general statement:
- “It’s sad to fight with (my/one’s) family.”
- “Fighting with your family is sad.”
If you wanted to talk about one specific past fight, you’d usually change both parts:
- 家族とけんかをしたのは悲しかったです。
→ “The fact that I fought with my family was sad.”
→ “It was sad that I fought with my family.”
So the original sentence feels more like a general feeling or rule rather than a single event.
Yes, you can say:
- 家族とけんかをして悲しいです。
This means:
- Literally: “I fought with my family and (I) am sad.”
- Natural: “I’m sad (because) I fought with my family.”
Nuance difference:
家族とけんかをするのは悲しいです。
→ Describes the act in general: “Fighting with (one’s) family is sad (as a thing).”
→ Feels like a more general, reflective statement.家族とけんかをして悲しいです。
→ Feels more like right now, I fought and I’m sad (about it).
→ More event-based and immediate.
Both are natural, but they focus on slightly different things.
Yes, you could say:
- 家族とけんかをすることは悲しいです。
This is also natural and means the same: “Fighting with (one’s) family is sad.”
About の vs こと:
- の often feels a bit more concrete / emotional / personal in many contexts.
- こと can feel a bit more abstract / formal / bookish, especially in writing.
In this specific sentence, both:
- 家族とけんかをするのは悲しいです。
- 家族とけんかをすることは悲しいです。
are fine and commonly used. Any nuance difference is very small here, and both can be used in everyday speech.
In this sentence, と clearly means “with”, not “and,” because of the verb and the pattern:
- With verbs of interaction or mutual action, X と V usually means “V with X”:
- 友だちと遊ぶ – to play with a friend
- 彼女と話す – to talk with her
- 弟とけんかする – to fight with my younger brother
If it were listing things (“A and B”), you’d expect something like:
- 家族と友だち – family and friends
Here, because 家族 is the only noun before と and the verb is an interaction verb (けんかをする), the natural reading is “with (my) family.”
Yes, you can change the order:
- 悲しいのは家族とけんかをすることです。
This literally means:
- “What is sad is fighting with (one’s) family.”
Meaning: essentially the same idea: “Fighting with your family is what’s sad.”
Nuance:
家族とけんかをするのは悲しいです。
→ Topic: “As for fighting with family, it is sad.”悲しいのは家族とけんかをすることです。
→ Topic: “As for what is sad, it is fighting with family.”
The second version emphasizes “what is sad” and identifies it as the act of fighting with family. It’s a slightly different focus, but the basic message is the same.