日本語道場

Nihongo Dojo — N3 → N2

Grammar

N2

~ぶん(には)

~bun (ni wa)

as long as, so far as (within limits)

When to use it

Use ~ぶん(には)to fence off a limited scope and then judge only within it: “as far as / as long as it stays within X, it's fine.” It very often precedes evaluations like 問題ない・十分だ・支障はない, and the には carries an implicit contrast (“…but beyond that, no promises”). Common in reports, spec discussions and negotiation, where you want to approve something conditionally without over-committing.

Formation

  • Verb: dictionary form or た-form + 分(には)— 使う分には / 目を通した分には(past = “as far as I actually did it”)
  • い-adjective: plain form + 分(には)— 安い分には (rare; usually replaced by 〜うちは)
  • な-adjective: 〜な + 分(には)— 簡単な分には (rare)
  • Noun: 〜の + 分(には)— 社内利用の分には
  • The 〜には is droppable, but keeping it strengthens the “within this range only” contrast. Frequently paired with 問題ない・十分だ・支障はない, and often followed by a が-clause stating the limit.
  • Distinguish from 〜かぎり(では), which reports the basis of a judgment; 〜分(には)restricts the scope of application.

Examples

  • As long as it's for internal use, this spec is plenty.

  • As far as I've looked it over, there are no major problems.

  • We can discount to the extent you increase volume, but delivery is another matter.

  • From the little I handled the prototype, I've no complaints about usability.

  • Going by what we heard from them, there seems to be room to negotiate.