54783
Could someone enlighten me on how to say: "I think I understand (it) right
now, but I'm not entirely sure (I will understand it) in future"? The speaker
feels their understanding could go either way: either they'll remember, or
they won't. 50/50.

My (laughably poor) attempt would be:

> せめて今の所は分かるけど、未来は分かるのかどうか分からない。

Again, I'm sure that's probably riddle with errors. Yikes!

Many thanks in advance!
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2017-11-26T19:06:07.083
54781
2017-11-26T21:44:52.430
26575
question
grammar translation meaning word-choice
Expressing 50% uncertainty
> 「せめて今{いま}の所{ところ}は分{わ}かるけど、未来{みらい}は分かるのかどうか分からない。」

Just by the look of it, at least, I know that you tried very hard and that is
what counts.

「せめて」 , when correctly used, expresses one's minimum hope as in wanting "at
least this much". It is used to express a desire. Thus, it feels out of place
in this context. Incidentally, 「今のところ」, all by itself, covers what you want to
say here.

「未来」 is a bigger word than Japanese-learners tend to think. That I know for
sure after having dealt with J-learners for a few decades. A good word to
know, of course, but it is too big here.

You used 「分かる」 three times in a short sentence and that is a little too many.
This is, however, a minor thing compared to the two items I mentioned above.

So, how could we say this more naturally? We could say:

「今（のところ）は分かるけど、先{さき}のことは分からない。」

「今は分かったつもりだけど、（いつまでも/ずっと）覚{おぼ}えていられるかどうか分からない。」

「今は分かったつもりでいるけど、すぐに忘{わす}れてしまうかもしれない。」

I personally recommend the last two even though they look quite different from
your original sentence. I would be lying if I said otherwise.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-26T21:44:52.430
54783
2017-11-26T21:44:52.430
54781
answer