と言えるit is fair to say (that)
The hedge of careful writing: "it is fair to say that…", word for word "it can be said". The conclusion is your own; "people say" is と言われている.
Sales are growing every month, so it is fair to say that the business is going well.
You couldn't call this place cheap, but the food is good.
How to form it
Plain form + と言える
A noun or a な-adjective usually keeps its だ: 成功だと言える. Polite と言えます. Often written といえる.
Softer
…と言えるだろう／と言えるでしょう
"It would be fair to say."
Negative
…とは言えない
"It can't really be called…"
- Before it
- A conclusion, with the grounds for it given first: …ので, …から, or the sentence before.
- Tone
- Measured: more careful than a flat だ, and less personal than と思う.
- Where you'll meet it
- Essays, reports, newspaper columns, reviews, presentations. In a reading passage it often marks what the writer concludes.
In use
Most of the audience rated it highly, so the performance can fairly be called a success.
Given that there have been no major accidents in ten years, it would be fair to call this system safe.
だろう leaves room for other views.
The two proposals have a lot in common, and you could also say that their basic direction is the same.
とも言える: one more way to look at it.
Two things to know
For a taste or a feeling, it is と思う
と言える claims that the facts are behind you. About a taste or a feeling, it sounds like a critic handing down a verdict.
Sounds odd: この
It is fair to say that this ramen is good.
To a friend: おいしいと思う.
とは言えない is a careful no
It stops short of the opposite: not convenient, without calling the place inconvenient. This one is common in everyday talk too, as a polite way to find fault.
It's a twenty-minute walk from the station, so you can't call it convenient.
Close neighbours
と言われているN3
"It is said": what people in general say, and not the writer's own judgment.
Japan is said to be a safe country.
Softer still: the conclusion is put to the reader as a question.
Children today are perhaps too busy.
Check yourself
1Whose view is this?
この
Choose an answer to see why.
2What does the writer think of the hotel?
この
Choose an answer to see why.
3You are telling a friend about a film. Which sounds natural?
Choose an answer to see why.
More sentences
According to the survey, eighty percent of users are satisfied. It is fair to say that the new system has achieved some results.
The average score rose a good deal from last time, so it is fair to say that changing the study method worked.
The population has kept growing for the past five years. It would be fair to say that this area is growing.