彼はその絵をただ同様の値段で買った。

Sentence Discussions Japanese
#1
English Translation

He bought the picture for next to nothing.

Is this【ただ同様の値段】some sort of set phrase or something that pretty much implies an impressively cheap price?

1 Like
#2

@TisYanni
First off, ただ同様の値段 is unnatural and should be replaced with ただ同然の値段 (pron. ただどうぜんのねだん).

Maybe the word ただ made you confused. ただ means:

  1. just; merely (e.g., I could do nothing but just stand by and watch people dying. = 何もできなくて、私はただ人々が死んでいくのを傍観しているだけだった。)
  2. for free; at no costs (synonym: 無料)

The Clozemaster sentence is used as the second meaning.

  • Tom obtained the picture for free. = トムはただでその絵を手に入れた。or トムは無料でその絵を手に入れた。
  • ==> Mary paid 50,000 yen for the picture. = メアリ―は5万円でその絵を買った。
  • ==> John paid only 10 yen for the picture. It’s almost for free. = ジョンはその絵をただ同然の値段で買った。or ジョンはその絵を買ったが、ただ同然だった(i.e., you can drop 値段 from this sentence structure)。

ただ is more likely to be spelled as タダ in Katakana for the second usage, but ただ in Hiragana isn’t wrong and we use both spellings. We sometimes prefer Katakana over Hiragana to emphasize the meaning. “For free” is something you may want to boast.

同然 means “as X as” (compare two things under the same condition).

Let me know if you still have something unclear.