what was said; meaning; origin of a story
Used in the pattern 〜のいい to refer to the content, meaning, or origin of something said or written. Often appears in fixed expressions like 〜といういい or 〜のいいでは.
このことわざのいいは、努力が報われるということだ。
The meaning of this proverb is that hard work pays off.
彼の話のいいでは、昔この村に大きな竜が住ん
The origin of this festival lies in an old legend.
According to his story, a great dragon once lived in this village.
この地名は神が降りたといういいがある。
There is a tradition that this place name comes from a god descending there.
Derived from the classical Japanese verb 言ふ (いう, 'to say'), with the nominalized form いい meaning 'what is said'. The kanji 謂 is used for its meaning of 'reason' or 'story'.