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If a Japanese person wanted to say something like:

> I don't understand the phrase "I am flabbergasted"

then I think

> 「I am flabbergasted」という意味が分からない

would be okay.

I was wondering if you could just say

> 「I am flabbergasted」は/が分からない

without having to explicitly use a word like 意味. More generally, is it
permissible to attach any particle other than と to a direct quote?
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2016-05-05T18:10:59.070
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2016-07-16T14:40:19.177
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question
grammar quotes
Attaching は to a direct quote
Yes, you need a ーと after the direct quote, before a verb that takes that quote
as its object. For your example, the correct translation is: 私は"I am
flabbergasted"という言葉の意味がわからない。'I don't understand the meaning of the expression
"I am flabbergasted" '.

Other instances For「言う」'say' and related verbs such as「ささやく」'whisper' 「叫ぶ」'say
loudly, scream' etc. , 彼女は「おはよう！」と言った/ささやいた/叫んだ。'She said/whispered/yelled
"Ohayo!" '. ＊彼女は「おはよう！」を言った/ささやいた/叫んだ。 (* = unacceptable)

Hope this helps. RS
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2016-05-05T18:38:40.597
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answer
Your "sentence":

> 「"I am flabbergasted."という[意味]{いみ}が[分]{わ}からない。」

is _**not**_ grammatical and for native speakers to understand it, we would
have to _**guess**_ as to what the speaker/writer is trying to convey.
Fortunately, the guessing part is not very hard in this case, but that
sentence will still have the listener/reader guessing for a second.

For you to use the phrase 「～～という意味」 correctly, the ~~ part would need to be
the _**meaning**_ of a word/phrase/sentence, etc. in question, and _**not**_
the word/phrase/sentence itself. This is why the quotative 「と」 is used with
「意味」("meaning").

To say what you want to express grammatically and naturally using 「～～という」, you
could say:

> 「"I am flabbergasted."という **文の** 意味が分からない。」 [文]{ぶん} = sentence
>
> 「"I am flabbergasted."という **表現の** 意味が分からない。」 [表現]{ひょうげん} = expression

_**Informally**_ , however, you could simply say as @chocolate stated:

> 「"I am flabbergasted." **の** 意味が分からない。」

Finally, your last sentence:

> 「"I am flabbergasted." **は/が** 分からない。」

can be used in _**informal**_ situations.

With 「は」, you can say something like:

> 「"Sod off!" **は** 分かるけど、"I'm flabbergasted" **は** 分からない。」 ← Contrastive 「は」

With 「が」, you can say:

> 「"Sod off!" **が** 分からない。このページの[他]{ほか}の表現は[全部知]{ぜんぶし}ってるけど。」

TL;DR: Just remember that whenever you are directly attaching a "particle +
verb phrase" to a quote, that expression would usually be _**informal**_.

In _**formal**_ speech, placing 「という + 文/表現/ことわざ」 right after the quote would
be the usual way to talk about the quote. (ことわざ = proverb)
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2016-07-16T14:25:22.670
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answer