“Sore wa ii” v.s. “Sore ga ii”

I’ll be comparing two simple sentences today.

Sore wa ii desu.

Sore ga ii desu.

The obvious difference between them is just “wa” and “ga”, but is that really all there is to it? And do both mean “That’s good”?

The basic rule states that text following “wa” and text preceeding “ga” is emphasized. Please keep this rule in mind and consider the following examples.

example 1

A: natsuyasumi ni Nikko ni ikimasu. (I’m going to Nikko during summer break.)

B: Sore wa ii desu ne. (That’s nice.)

“Sore” refers to going to Nikko during summer break, and B is trying to say “It’s nice to go to Nikko during summer break.” B wants primarliy to communicate his opinion that “that’s not a bad idea at all, but is good”, based on the rule that text following “wa” is emphasized.

example 2

A: obon no aida wa kuruma ga komu kara, densha de iku koto ni shimashita. (I decided to go by train because traffic will be bad during the obon week.)

B: sore ga ii desu ne. (That sounds like a good idea.)

B is agreeing that “it’s a better idea to go by train rather than by car” because the part preceeding “ga” (“sore”) is what is focused on.

It seems A and B don’t have any plans other than A’s Nikko trip.

example 3

A: mainichi atsukute, hatarakitakunai shi, natsuyasumi wa ii ne. (I don’t want to work due to the hot weather. Summer break is NICE.)

B: boku wa hima dakara, issho ni umi ni ikou yo. Nikko no mae? Nikko no ato? (I have no plans, so let’s go to a beach. Before or after Nikko?)

A: Nikko no ato ga ii na. (AFTER NIKKO is better.)

“Nikko no ato ga ii na” has the same connotation as “kohi ga ii desu” (Coffee is better/I prefer coffee/I’ll have coffee) when answering the question, “Nomimono wa kohi to ocha, dochira ga ii desu ka?” (Which one would you like coffee or tea?)

example 4

A: watashi wa obon no ato mo yasumi o totta kara, natsuyasumi wa nagai n desu. (I took a vacation also after the obon, so my summer break is long.)

B: sore wa ii na. (That sounds nice. *I think “I’m jealous” is also implied.)

B: watashi no yasumi wa shumatsu dakara, Nikko no ato no shumatsu ni umi ni ikou? (I don’t work on weekend, so let’s go to a beach on the weekend after your Nikko trip?)

A: sore ga ii! (Now that sounds great to me. *I’m trying to make the meaning of “ga” visible in English.)

“Sore wa ii” in example 4 shows the speaker’s opinion on whether the previous sentence, which “sore” refers to, is good or not. It’s just like example 1 and 3 too.

example 5

A: kodomo o tsuretekite mo ii? (May I bring my children?)

B: sore (kodomo) wa ii yo. (Yes, you can bring them.)

A: inu mo tsuretekite mo ii? (May I bring my dog, too?)

B: sore (inu) wa dame. tsuma wa inu ga suki ja nai kara. (No, you can’t bring him because my wife doesn’t like dogs.)

This “ii” indicates giving persmission. Further, “wa” in “kodomo wa” and “inu wa” lines up the two topics in contrast. This means I allow you to bring children, but no dogs.

example 6

B: A wa ookii kurma o motteiru kara, umi made boku tachi mo nosete moraeru? (Do you mind giving us a ride to the beach because you have a big car?)

A: sore wa ii yo. (I don’t mind.)

In this case, A accespts B’s request in the previous sentence, whicn “sore” refers to, and says “OK, I’ll do it!” This has a different connotation from “ii ne!” (That’s nice!)

After going through those examples, I think you’ll see that it’s better not to consider “sore wa ii” and “sore ga ii” to simply be equivalent to “That’s good” and “That’s nice.” They often imply something else besides those simple translations. In either case, you can’t interpret these phrases correctly without understanding the previous sentences. Please be aware of the context where they are used.