について | Grammar

Structure

[noun] + について [noun] + についての + [noun]

Description

The particle phrase について is used to indicate the topic or subject matter of an action such as talking, thinking, researching, writing, or asking. It attaches to a noun and translates to "about," "concerning," or "regarding" in English.

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I talked about Japanese culture.

。

I am thinking about that problem.

Unlike the topic marker は, which sets the general topic of a sentence, について specifically marks the subject matter of a verb – what is being discussed, studied, investigated, etc.

についての – Modifying a noun

When you want to use について to modify a noun directly, change it to についての. This acts like an adjective phrase meaning "about ~" or "regarding ~."

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I read a book about the environment.

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Do you have any questions about the exam?

Common verbs used with について

について frequently appears with verbs related to communication and thought, such as はなす話す (to talk), きく聞く (to ask/hear), しらべる調べる (to investigate), かんがえる考える (to think), かく書く (to write), せつめい説明する (to explain), and しる知る (to know).

。

Do you know anything about this matter?

に関して is a more formal synonym of について, often used in written language, academic contexts, and business settings. In everyday conversation, について is more natural.

Examples

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I am studying about Japanese history.

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Have you ever thought about the future?

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I don't know anything about that incident.

まし。

The teacher explained about the test.

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I talked with my friend about our travel plans.

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You should look into this problem more.

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I read an article about health.

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Did you hear anything about that movie?

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I wrote an essay about environmental issues.

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Please submit the report regarding the project.

。

She wrote a book about her experiences.

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Let's talk about that later.

References

についてBunpro