Breakdown of kyou ha isogasikute mo, nikki ni itigyou dake kakeru kamo sirenai.
Questions & Answers about kyou ha isogasikute mo, nikki ni itigyou dake kakeru kamo sirenai.
は marks the topic of the sentence.
今日 は is not really “Today is …” in the strict grammatical sense; it’s more like:
- “As for today, …”
- “Today, (at least) …”
It frames everything that follows as a statement about today.
Japanese often drops explicit subjects like “I,” so the full idea is:
- (I) 今日 は 忙しくても、日記に一行だけ書けるかもしれない。
→ As for today, even if (I am) busy, (I) might be able to write just one line in my diary.
Grammatically, it’s 忙しくて + も, but together they form the pattern 〜くて(い形容詞) + も, usually written as 忙しくても with no space.
- 忙しい → adjective “busy”
- 忙しくて → て-form of 忙しい
- 忙しくて + も → 忙しくても, meaning “even if (I am) busy” / “although (I am) busy.”
So:
- 今日 は 忙しくても…
→ Even if I’m busy today… / Although I’m busy today…
This 〜ても pattern expresses a kind of concession:
X ても Y = “Even if X, (still) Y.”
All of these connect “busy” with another statement, but the nuance differs:
忙しくても
- “Even if I’m busy / although I’m busy, (still) …”
- Emphasizes that being busy won’t completely prevent the next action.
- Fits well with something like “I might still manage to write.”
忙しいけど
- “I’m busy, but …”
- More conversational, often used when speaking about a current situation.
- Sounds a bit like “I’m busy, but (still) …”
- 今日 は 忙しいけど、日記に一行だけ書けるかも。 is also natural, just a bit more colloquial.
忙しいのに
- “Even though I’m busy (and that’s surprising / contrary to expectations) …”
- Adds a feeling of complaint or unexpectedness more strongly.
- Would feel off here unless the speaker is stressing some emotional contrast.
In this sentence, 忙しくても nicely matches the neutral idea:
“Even if I’m busy today, I might still be able to write a line.”
With 書く, several particles are possible, but they have different roles:
X に 書く = write in/onto X (X is the surface or target):
- ノートに書く – write in a notebook
- 黒板に書く – write on the blackboard
- 日記に書く – write in (my) diary
X を 書く = write X (X is the content you write):
- 手紙を書く – write a letter
- 名前を書く – write (one’s) name
X で 書く typically marks:
- Instrument: ペンで書く – write with a pen
- Language/medium: 日本語で書く – write in Japanese
So in 日記に一行だけ書ける, 日記 is the place/medium where you write, so に is the natural particle:
“I might be able to write one line in my diary.”
一行だけ breaks down as:
- 一行 (いちぎょう) – “one line (of text)”
- 行 (ぎょう) is a counter for lines of writing or text.
- だけ – “only / just”
So 一行だけ = “only one line,” “just a single line.”
Typical related examples:
- 二行書く – write two lines
- 三行だけコメントする – I’ll only comment in three lines
In this sentence:
- 日記に一行だけ書けるかもしれない。
→ “(I) might be able to write only one line in my diary.”
書ける is the potential form of 書く:
- 書く – to write
- 書ける – to be able to write / can write
So the nuance is:
- 書くかもしれない – “I might write (one line).”
- 書けるかもしれない – “I might be able to write (one line).”
The sentence uses 書ける, so the focus is on ability or possibility:
Even if I’m busy today, I might manage / might be able to write just one line in my diary.
かもしれない is used to express possibility / uncertainty and is usually translated as:
- “maybe”
- “might”
- “it’s possible (that…)”
In terms of certainty, it typically suggests low to medium confidence, often similar to English “might”:
- 雨が降るかもしれない。
→ It might rain. / Maybe it’ll rain.
In this sentence:
- 書けるかもしれない。
→ “(I) might be able to write.” / “It’s possible I can write (one line).”
A rough “certainty scale” (very approximate):
- たぶん〜 – probably ~
- 〜でしょう – will probably ~ / I suppose ~
- 〜かもしれない – might ~ / maybe ~ (less certain than でしょう)
Yes, かも is a casual contraction of かもしれない, very common in spoken Japanese and informal writing.
- Full: 書けるかもしれない。
- Casual: 書けるかも。
Nuance:
- かもしれない – neutral / standard
- かも – more casual / conversational
So you could say:
- 今日 は 忙しくても、日記に一行だけ書けるかも。
That sounds like something you’d say to a friend or in your own internal monologue.
Japanese often omits the subject when it’s obvious from context.
In this kind of sentence about:
- your own schedule (今日 は 忙しくても)
- your own diary (日記に)
the default assumption is that the subject is “I”. It would be unnatural to interpret it as “you” or “he/she” unless the context clearly points that way.
If you really wanted to state the subject explicitly, you could say:
- 私は今日忙しくても、日記に一行だけ書けるかもしれない。
But in everyday Japanese, that 私 is usually dropped as redundant.
As written, it’s in plain (casual) form:
- 書けるかもしれない – plain
- No です／ます
To make it polite, you’d generally:
Keep the verb in potential form, but use 〜ます style where possible:
- 書けるかもしれません。 (polite conclusion)
Optionally use a more polite style in the first clause too:
- 今日は忙しくても、日記に一行だけ書けるかもしれません。
This would be appropriate in semi-formal writing or when talking politely to someone you’re not close to.
The comma after も is just marking the boundary between two clauses:
- 今日は忙しくても、 – “Even if I’m busy today,”
- 日記に一行だけ書けるかもしれない。 – “I might be able to write just one line in my diary.”
You could write it without the comma in casual text, but it’s easier to read with it, especially in longer sentences.
As for word order, Japanese is flexible as long as particles are intact. For example, all of these are possible and natural:
- 日記に一行だけ書けるかもしれない。
- 一行だけ日記に書けるかもしれない。
- 日記に書けるのは一行だけかもしれない。 (slightly different emphasis)
The original 日記に一行だけ書ける emphasizes “only one line (in the diary)” in a straightforward way, which matches the likely intended nuance.