giziroku wo yomikaesitara, watasi ga kaigi de ittakoto ga haitte imasendesita.

Questions & Answers about giziroku wo yomikaesitara, watasi ga kaigi de ittakoto ga haitte imasendesita.

Why does the sentence use 読み返したら? What does 〜たら mean here?

読み返したら comes from 読み返す, which means to read again / reread / look back over.

The 〜たら form here means something like:

  • when I reread it
  • after I reread it
  • upon rereading it

So this is not really a hypothetical if in English. It is more like a trigger for discovery:

  • When I reread the minutes, I realized/found that...

This pattern is very common in Japanese:

  • ドアを開けたら、猫がいた。
    When I opened the door, there was a cat.

So 読み返したら sets the scene for what was discovered next.

What does 読み返す mean exactly? How is it different from just 読む?

読む just means to read.

読み返す means to read again, often with the nuance of:

  • rereading carefully
  • reviewing what you read before
  • going back over something

In this sentence, 議事録を読み返したら suggests the speaker checked the meeting minutes again, probably to confirm the contents.

Why is it 議事録を and not 議事録が?

Because 議事録 is the direct object of 読み返す.

  • 議事録を読み返す = to reread the minutes

The particle marks what is being read.

If you used , it would not fit naturally with 読み返す in this sentence.

What exactly is 議事録?

議事録 means minutes or meeting minutes: the written record of what was said and decided in a meeting.

So:

  • 議事 = proceedings / business discussed
  • = record

Together, 議事録 = record of the meeting.

Why is it 私が instead of 私は?

This is a very common question.

Here, 私が会議で言ったこと is a relative clause modifying こと:

  • the thing that I said at the meeting

Inside that clause, is the one who performed the action 言った, so marks the subject of said.

So:

  • 私が会議で言ったこと = what I said at the meeting

If you used 私は, it would sound more like setting I up as the overall topic, which is not what this part is doing. Here, the sentence is specifically identifying which thing was missing: the thing I said.

Why are there two particles in the same sentence?

Because they belong to different parts of the sentence.

  1. 私が marks the subject inside the embedded clause:

    • 私が会議で言ったこと
    • the thing that I said at the meeting
  2. 言ったことが marks the subject of 入っていませんでした:

    • what I said ... was not included

So the structure is roughly:

  • [私が会議で言ったこと] が 入っていませんでした
  • [what I said at the meeting] was not in / was not included

This is completely normal in Japanese.

What does こと do in 言ったこと?

Here, こと turns the verb phrase 言った (said) into the thing said or what was said.

So:

  • 言った = said
  • 言ったこと = what was said / the thing said

In this sentence:

  • 私が会議で言ったこと = what I said at the meeting

This use of こと is very common when talking about an action or content as a noun-like thing.

What does 会議で mean here? Why is the particle used?

marks the place or setting where the action happens.

So:

  • 会議で言った = said at the meeting

Here, 会議で means in the meeting / at the meeting as the location or occasion where the speaking happened.

Compare:

  • 学校で勉強する = study at school
  • 会議で話す = speak at a meeting
What does 入っていませんでした mean here? Why not just 入っていません or 入りませんでした?

入っていませんでした is the past negative of 入っている.

In this context, 入っている does not literally mean only is inside. It often means:

  • is included
  • is contained
  • is entered in
  • is listed

So 入っていませんでした means:

  • was not included
  • wasn’t in there

Why this form?

  • 入っている describes a resulting state: something has been put in and is now included.
  • 入っていない = is not included
  • 入っていませんでした = was not included / when I checked, it turned out not to be included

This fits meeting minutes very naturally.

入りませんでした would usually mean did not enter / did not go in, which sounds more physical or event-based and is less natural here.

Is 入っていませんでした passive?

Not grammatically, no.

It is not the passive form like 入れられていませんでした.

Instead, it is an intransitive expression:

  • 入る = to enter / to be included
  • 入っている = to be in / to be included

Japanese often uses this kind of intransitive wording where English prefers a passive:

  • 名前が入っていない = the name isn’t included
  • 私の意見が入っていない = my opinion isn’t included

So even though English might say was not included, the Japanese is not a formal passive construction.

Does the sentence explicitly say who left it out of the minutes?

No, it does not.

The sentence only says that what I said was not included in the minutes. It does not directly state:

  • who wrote the minutes
  • who omitted the comment
  • whether it was intentional or accidental

This kind of omission is very normal in Japanese when the agent is unknown, obvious, or not important.

What is the overall structure of the sentence?

A helpful breakdown is:

  • 議事録を読み返したら、 when I reread the minutes,
  • 私が会議で言ったことが what I said at the meeting
  • 入っていませんでした。 was not included.

So the full flow is:

When I reread the meeting minutes, what I had said at the meeting was not included.

Or more natural English:

When I reread the minutes, I saw that what I said at the meeting wasn’t included.

Could 私が会議で言ったこと be replaced with something shorter?

Yes, depending on nuance.

For example:

  • 私の発言が入っていませんでした。
    My remarks/comment were not included.

  • 私の言ったことが入っていませんでした。
    What I said was not included.

The original 私が会議で言ったこと is a little more explicit and carefully spelled out. It clearly identifies:

  • who said it
  • where it was said
  • what kind of content is being referred to

So it sounds precise and natural in a context like discussing official meeting minutes.

Is there any nuance of surprise or discovery in this sentence?

Yes.

The combination of:

  • 読み返したら = when I reread it
  • 入っていませんでした = it turned out not to be included

creates a natural sense of noticing or discovering something.

So the sentence does not just state a fact mechanically. It suggests:

  • the speaker checked the minutes
  • then realized their comment was missing

That is why a natural English translation often includes something like:

  • I found that...
  • I noticed that...
  • it turned out that...
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