May I?

'～temo iidesuka' is an expression used to ask for permission. For example, if you want to eat the last biscuit, you would say, 'Tabetemo iidesuka (May I eat this?)' If you notice something that seems important in someone's home, you would ask,'Sawattemo iidesuka (May I touch this?)' before picking it up.

A student and I were practicing this sentence pattern. The textbook gave the example sentence 'Kaettemo iidesuka (May I go home?)', so I asked him, "When would you say 'Kaettemo iidesuka (May I go home?')" As I waited for his answer, I expected something like 'when you're feeling unwell and want to leave early' or 'when you've finished work early.'

After thinking for a moment, he replied:
'When police questioning is over.'

I burst out laughing. For him, a legal professional, it might be an ordinary situation —but it caught me completely off guard.
　
　
　
　
【An e-book (Kindle) published under my pen name TONE Riko】
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