Learn Hardcore Japanese: nihongo no hyougen no haba ha totemo hiroi to omoimasu. - I think the range of expressions in Japanese is very wide.

In natural English, we don’t usually say “width of expressions,” so we render it as “the range of expressions” or “how wide the range of possible expressions is.” It’s a common and natural collocation in Japanese: ～の幅が広い = “the range of ~ is wide / there is a wide variety of ~.”

Why are there two の in a row in 日本語の表現の幅? How do I parse that?

Break it down step by step:

日本語 = Japanese (language)
日本語の表現 = “expressions of Japanese” / “Japanese expressions”
日本語の表現の幅 = “the range (width) of Japanese expressions”

So structurally it’s:

(日本語 の表現) の幅
→ [expressions of Japanese]’s range

Multiple の in a row like this are very common in Japanese. Each の just connects one noun phrase to the next:

日本語の表現の幅は …
Japanese ’s expressions ’ range (topic) …

Why is は used after 幅 (幅は) instead of が?

は marks the topic: what we’re talking about as a whole sentence.
が usually marks the subject (often introducing new information or focusing on who/what does something).

Here, the speaker is setting 表現の幅 (“the range of expressions”) as the general topic:

表現の幅は とても広いと思います。
“As for the range of (Japanese) expressions, I think it’s very wide.”

If we used が:

表現の幅が とても広いと思います。

this would tend to feel more like we’re emphasizing 表現の幅 as the specific thing that is wide, possibly in contrast to something else. は is more neutral/topical, which matches the general statement: “Speaking about the range of Japanese expressions, it’s very wide.”

What role does と play before 思います? Why do we need と there?

That と is the quotation particle. It marks what is being “quoted” as the content of the thought:

A と思います
= “I think that A.”

In this sentence, the part before と is:

日本語の表現の幅はとても広い

So structurally:

「日本語の表現の幅はとても広い」 と思います。
I think “the range of Japanese expressions is very wide.”

Even though we don’t usually say “I think ‘…’” in English, in Japanese と is needed to show where the thought-contents end and the thinking verb (思います) begins.

Why say 広いと思います instead of just 広いです? What nuance does 思います add?

広いです。
“It is wide.”
広いと思います。
“I think (it) is wide.”

思います adds:

Subjectivity / modesty
It signals that this is your opinion or impression, not an absolute fact. This often sounds softer and more polite than a bare statement.
Politeness / hedging
Japanese speakers frequently use ～と思います in conversation to avoid sounding too direct or assertive. It’s a common way to express opinions.

So:

日本語の表現の幅はとても広いです。
sounds like a more objective statement of fact.
日本語の表現の幅はとても広いと思います。
sounds like “In my view, the range of Japanese expressions is very wide,” which is more natural in everyday polite speech.

Why is it とても広い and not something like 広いとても? Where does とても go?

In Japanese, adverbs like とても (“very”) normally come directly before the word they modify:

とても広い = very wide
とても早い = very fast
とてもきれい = very pretty

Putting it after (広いとても) is ungrammatical.

So the pattern here is:

とても (adverb) + 広い (adjective) + と思います (I think)

You can’t move とても to the end or away from 広い. It needs to come right before the adjective it intensifies.

Could we use other words instead of とても? For example, すごく or 非常に—do they change the tone?

Yes, you can replace とても with other intensifiers, but the nuance changes:

とても広い
“very wide” – neutral and common in polite speech.
すごく広い
“really / super wide” – more casual / colloquial, often used in speech among friends.
非常に広い
“extremely wide” – sounds formal, written, or academic.
かなり広い
“quite / considerably wide” – a bit more measured, less emotional.

So:

Polite, neutral conversation:
日本語の表現の幅はとても広いと思います。
Casual among friends:
日本語の表現の幅はすごく広いと思う。
Formal presentation or writing:
日本語の表現の幅は非常に広いと考えられます。

What is the nuance of 表現? How is it different from something like 言い方?

Both relate to “how you say something,” but:

表現 (ひょうげん)
- “expression” in a broad, sometimes more formal sense.
- can cover word choice, style, phrasing, even non‑verbal expression.
- used in contexts like 文学的な表現 (literary expression), 敬語の表現 (honorific expressions).
言い方 (いいかた)
- literally “way of saying (it).”
- more concrete and everyday; usually about the phrasing of a specific sentence or word.
- e.g. この言い方は失礼です。 (“This way of saying it is rude.”)

日本語の表現の幅 suggests the overall richness and variety of ways Japanese can express ideas, not just individual turns of phrase.

Is 日本語 here a noun meaning “Japanese language” or could it be “Japanese (people)”?

Here, 日本語 is clearly the language:

日本語 vs 日本人
- 日本語 = Japanese (language)
- 日本人 = Japanese (people / person)

In 日本語の表現の幅, the pattern is:

(language) の expressions の range

So it can only sensibly mean “expressions in Japanese (language).” If we wanted to talk about Japanese people’s ways of expression, we’d phrase it differently, e.g. 日本人の表現の仕方 (“the way Japanese people express themselves”).

How does word order work here? In English we’d say “The range of Japanese expressions is very wide,” but Japanese seems reversed.

Japanese noun phrases tend to go from bigger context to smaller, left to right, with の linking them:

日本語の表現の幅
[Japanese language]’s [expressions]’ [range]

So the natural order is:

[日本語の表現の幅] は [とても広い] と [思います]。
[topic] [comment] [quotation] [think]

In English, you’d restructure the same information as:

I think the range of Japanese expressions is very wide.

The core pattern to remember is:

(NOUN PHRASE) は ADJECTIVE と思います。
“I think (NOUN PHRASE) is ADJECTIVE.”
→ 日本語の表現の幅はとても広いと思います。

Could we say 日本語の表現の幅がとても広いと思います instead? Would that be wrong?

Grammatically, it’s not wrong:

日本語の表現の幅がとても広いと思います。

This would usually put a bit more focus/emphasis on 日本語の表現の幅 as the subject that has the property of being wide.

However, in many neutral, descriptive statements, は is more natural because we’re talking “as for” that topic in general:

日本語の表現の幅はとても広いと思います。
= As for the range of Japanese expressions, I think it’s very wide. (neutral topic)

Using が here might sound more like it’s contrasted with something else (e.g. compared to another language’s range), depending on the larger context. With no context, learners are usually better off using は in this sort of general opinion sentence.

Is there any difference between saying 広いと思います and 広いと感じます?

Yes, there is a nuance difference:

広いと思います。
“I think it is wide.”
→ A general opinion or judgment, the standard way to express what you think.
広いと感じます。
“I feel (that) it is wide.”
→ Emphasizes personal feeling or perception a bit more; it can be slightly more formal or introspective.

In everyday conversation, ～と思います is much more common for “I think…”.
～と感じます is often seen in writing, essays, or when you want to sound a bit more reflective.