てもいい — Giving/Asking Permission
Attaching もいい to a て-form makes a permission pattern: "May I ~?" or "You may ~". It literally means "even if [action] happens, it's fine."
Structure
[Verb te-form] + もいい (です / か)
Examples
これを食べてもいいですか？
Kore o tabete mo ii desu ka?
May I eat this?
食べて (eat) + も (even if) + いいですか (is it good?).
ここで休んでもいいですよ。
Koko de yasunde mo ii desu yo.
You may rest here.
A statement granting permission.
テレビを見てもいい？
Terebi o mite mo ii?
Can I watch TV?
Casual inquiry (dropping です/か).
• Casual Trim: in casual speech も and です are often dropped — これ食べていい？. • Natural Reply: rather than はい、いいです, native speakers answer permission requests with ええ、どうぞ (go ahead) or もちろん (of course).
Commonly confused with
The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones てもいい is tested against.
vs てはいけない (prohibition)
てもいい GRANTS permission ("you may ~"); てはいけない (casual ちゃだめ) FORBIDS ("you must not ~"). Direct opposites.
vs なくてもいい (no need to)
てもいい = it's OK to DO it; なくてもいい = it's OK NOT to do it (you don't have to). 食べてもいい vs 食べなくてもいい.
vs なければならない (obligation)
てもいい = optional permission; なければならない = obligation ("must do"). Permission vs requirement.
More expressions
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