~こそ

〜koso

JLPT N3 Chapter 67: Emphasis and degree, 1 of 7

Formation

Noun + こそ, (Verb-て + こそ)

Emphasizes the importance or uniqueness of something or someone; 'precisely', 'exactly', 'it is...', 'of all...'.

When to use

こそ: this very one, and no other (今日こそ).

Explanation

The ~こそ grammar point is used to emphasize the importance, uniqueness, or the most suitable thing or person in a specific situation. It can be translated as 'precisely', 'exactly', or 'it is...' in English. In practice, it most often appears after a noun (e.g. 今日こそ), or with verbs in the て-form (e.g. 頑張ってこそ).

Example sentences

Emphasis With こそ (Precisely / Only By)

Corpus examples (60)

Showing 25 of 60 corpus examples.