Recently I have a big problem with this. I have this massive sentence:

> そして、かけがえのないものといわれる人生の価値は、たったの三時間でわかってしまう **もの** であるようだ。もちろんその価値は、あくまで向こうが決める
> **もの** であって、普遍的な **もの** ではないのだろう。

Do all of them simply mean "thing" or does it mean something else? (like this
usage: （「…するものだ」の形で）それが当然であるという気持ちを示す。「先輩の忠告は聞く―だ」「困ったときは助け合う―だ」) Because I
feel like it can express something that is "natural".

How do I know which usage is what next time? Because for me in 90% of those
situations, context doesn't really help. And I've been struggling with this a
lot.
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2023-03-26T12:11:59.903
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question
grammar
How to differentiate between various usages of もの?
> Do all of them simply mean "thing" or does it mean something else?

From my perspective, もの can have different meanings and what meaning you give
it depends on the speaker / context of the sentence. With that being said, I
think defaulting the meaning to "thing" is a good middle ground. もの usually
seems to center around a singular object, entity, grouping, or etc of some
sort from my experiences.

To illustrate this with your sentence above, let's go over the もの parts

Entire sentence for reference. 4 ものs total from what I see:

> そして、かけがえのない **もの** といわれる人生の価値は、たったの三時間でわかってしまう **もの**
> であるようだ。もちろんその価値は、あくまで向こうが決める **もの** であって、普遍的な **もの** ではないのだろう。

  1. Here もの can mean thing, one thing, or etc.

> かけがえのない **もの** といわれる人生の価値
>
> A.) The value of a human life, which is said to be a irreplaceable
> **thing**.
>
> B.) The value of a human life is said to be **one thing** that is
> irreplaceable.

  2. Here もの can mean thing, everything, or etc

> たったの三時間でわかってしまう **もの** であるようだ
>
> A.) A **thing** that seems to be understood (completely / in full) in just 3
> hours.
>
> B.) With only 3 hours, it seems like **everything** is understood
> (completely / in full).

  3. Here もの can mean thing, something, or etc

> あくまで向こうが決める **もの** であって
>
> A.) It's a **thing** , which is decided by another (group / person) in the
> end.
>
> B.) It's **something** , which is decided by another (group / person) in the
> end.

  4. Here もの can mean thing, way, or etc

> 普遍的な **もの** ではないのだろう。
>
> A.) Perhaps it's not a universal **thing**.
>
> B.) There seems to be no universal **way**.
>
> C.) Perhaps it's not universal.
>
> Bonus: we don't even have to give a word meaning / translate もの for C. In
> this case もの could be seen as an emphasizing effect.

We can then take all of these parts and combine them to get an overall idea of
what is being said / the meaning of this:

> そして、かけがえのない **もの** といわれる人生の価値は、たったの三時間でわかってしまう **もの**
> であるようだ。もちろんその価値は、あくまで向こうが決める **もの** であって、普遍的な **もの** ではないのだろう。
>
> And thus, the value of a human life is said to be **one thing** that is
> irreplaceable, a **thing** that seems to be understood (completely / in
> full) in just 3 hours. Certainly, this value is **something** that is
> decided by another (group / person) in the end and perhaps it's not
> universal.

You mention:

> How do I know which usage is what next time? Because for me in 90% of those
> situations, context doesn't really help.

Context will always play some sort of factor, because at the end of the day
you are translating here. And because of that, don't forget (it's an easy
thing to forget) or become very comfortable with the fact that not everything
has a 1 to 1 translation. Sometimes you have to choose what's best or makes
the most sense depending on your target audience, which can include yourself,
and the context, speakers involved, or etc. Also remember, it's only difficult
now. This will get better over time as you come across more and more things
and get used to translating
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2023-03-28T20:52:44.643
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answer