Hayaku natsu ni naranai kanā.
(I wish it would be summer soon.)
Situation 1: Takako is speaking with her mother.
たか子：早く夏にならないかなあ。
母：え、ちょっと早いんじゃない？まだ五月よ。
Takako: Hayaku natsu ni naranai kanā.
Haha: E, chotto hayai-n ja nai? Mada go-gatsu yo.
Takako: I wish it would be summer soon.
Mom: Huh? Isn’t it a bit early? It’s still May.
The structures Xかな(あ) and Xたらどんなにいいか express a hope or wish. Xかな(あ) means “one hopes X” or “one wishes X,” and appears in casual conversation in the form of a rhetorical statement:
明日(あした)晴(は)れないかなあ。
(I hope it’ll be sunny tomorrow.)
Literally, this sentence reads something like, “Tomorrow, won’t it be clear, I hope.” Though “X” is a verb in the negative nai-form, the sentence is an affirmative statement.
課長(かちょう)の話(はなし)が早(はや)く終(お)わらないかな。
(I hope our section chief’s speech will end soon.)
In the Xかな(あ) pattern, “X” can also be a verb in potential form:
あの大学(だいがく)に入(はい)れないかなあ。
(I wish I could enter that university.)
When “X” is a verb in potential form, it can be combined with ようにならないかな(あ) to mean “one hopes they will become able to X”:
彼女(かのじょ)みたいに何カ国語(なんかこくご)も話(はな)せるようにならないかな。
(I wish I could become able to speak multiple languages like her.)
When the speaker wishes another person would do something for them, “Xてくれないかな(あ)” is commonly used:
うちの店(みせ)にお客(きゃく)さんがたくさん来(き)てくれないかな。
(I wish a lot of customers would come to our shop.)
Situation 2: Mr. Mita and his colleague, Mr. Sere, are chatting online.
三田：新型コロナウイルスのせいで、何をするにも心配だね。
セレ：ああ、流行が収束したらどんなにいいか。
Mita: Shingata koronauirusu no sei de, nani o suru nimo shinpai da ne.
Sere: Ā, ryūkō ga shūsoku shitara donna ni ii ka.
Mita: The novel coronavirus makes you worry whatever you do, huh?
Sere: Ah, how I wish the epidemic would come to a resolution.
The structure Xたらどんなにいいか, in which “X” is a verb in its tara-form, carries the nuance that the speaker strongly hopes or wishes “X” will be realized:
あのコンサートの切符(きっぷ)が取(と)れたらどんなにいいか。
(How I wish I could get tickets for that concert)
彼(かれ)が振(ふ)り向(む)いてくれたらどんなにいいか。
(How wonderful would it be if he just turned around and came back to me.)
Bonus Dialogue: Continued from Situation 2.
三田(みた)：誰(だれ)か新型(しんがた)コロナウイルスに効(き)く薬(くすり)を開発(かいはつ)してくれないかな。
セレ：それには時間(じかん)がかなりかかるらしいよ。それよりは、今(いま)ある薬で、効きそうなものを使(つか)うのが先(さき)だよ。あとは、ワクチンだ。早く開発されないかなあ。
三田：そうか。まだまだ先が長(なが)いなあ。本当(ほんとう)に世界(せかい)がすっかり変(か)わってしまいそうだね。オリンピックも延期(えんき)になっちゃったし。
セレ：ああ、社会(しゃかい)が元(もと)に戻(もど)ったら、どんなにいいか。でも、なかなかそうはいかないよね。
三田：経済(けいざい)も大(おお)きな打撃(だげき)を受(う)けているから、将来(しょうらい)がわからなくて不安(ふあん)だな。
セレ：うん。仕事(しごと)もリモートワークになっていて、三田君(みたくん)と喋(しゃべ)るのもオンラインだしね。
三田：うん、こういう深刻(しんこく)な状態(じょうたい)だと、なかなか冗談(じょうだん)も言(い)えないよ。
セレ：でも、こういう時(とき)こそ、三田君のような脳天気(のうてんき)な人が必要(ひつよう)だよ。
三田：そうか。頑張(がんば)らなくちゃね。
Mita: How I wish someone would develop a medicine effective against the novel coronavirus.
Sere: I’ve heard that that takes quite a lot of time. More importantly, we should use existing medicines that are likely to work first. Other than that, a vaccine. I hope it will be developed soon.
Mita: Yeah. There really is a long way to go. Honestly, the world has totally changed. The Olympics have even been postponed.
Sere: Ah, how great would it be if society could just go back to how it was before. But, that’s not the case.
Mita: The economy has taken a big hit so I’m anxious because I don’t know the future.
Sere: Yeah. [Our] jobs are done through remote work, and I have to speak with you online too, Mita.
Mita: Yeah, it’s hard to make jokes in such a life-threatening situation.
Sere: But it’s in times like these that I need a person with a happy-go-lucky character like yours, Mita.
Mita: Is that so? We’ll just have to do our best.
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