Meaning & usage
とでも言うべき offers a deliberate, slightly formal way to label something with the closest fitting description. It is used when no exact word exists, so the speaker proposes a noun phrase as the best available name. It follows a noun phrase directly, as in 奇跡とでも言うべき逆転, and is then followed by a noun, だ, でしょう, or ものだ. It sounds written and emphatic, so it is avoided in casual speech.
Example sentences 5
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彼の部屋はゴミ捨て場とでも言うべき状態になっていた。
His room had turned into what you might best describe as a garbage dump.
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この町には、秘密の宝庫とでも言うべき店がいくつかある。
In this town there are a few shops that could best be described as secret treasure troves.
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彼の発言は、事実上の降伏宣言とでも言うべきでしょう。
His statement might best be described as a de facto declaration of surrender.
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あの試合は奇跡とでも言うべき逆転だった。
That game was a comeback that could best be described as a miracle.
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この静けさは深海とでも言うべきものだ。
This quiet is something that might best be described as the deep sea.
