がたいHard to, Difficult to

Structure

Verb［stem］+ がたい

Details

About がたい

Coming from the same kanji as 難(むずか)しい 'difficult', 難(がた)い is a suffix that also means 'difficult'. However, in the case of がたい, it will be attached to the conjunctive form of verbs, and conveys that '(A) is difficult to do'. がたい is almost always written without kanji in this meaning.

Compared to にくい, which can simply imply that something is 'uncomfortable' to do, がたい refers almost exclusively to 困難(こんなん)であること 'things that involve a high degree of difficulty, distress, or infeasibility'. Due to this, がたい will come across as far stronger than にくい, and may imply that a certain task is almost impossible.

Summed up, these nuances basically translate as the following:

にくい - Something is difficult based on someone's opinion, experience, or general feeling.

がたい - Something is difficult based on the task itself having a high level of difficulty.

Examples

--:--

あの罪(つみ)は許(ゆる)しがたい。

That crime is unforgivable. (Nearly impossible to forgive)

もう一(ひと)つのアイデアも捨(す)てがたい。

The other idea is also hard to give up.

あの人(ひと)の言(い)っていることは信(しん)じがたいですね。

It's hard to believe what that person is saying.

忘(わす)れがたい出来事(できごと)に遭遇(そうぐう)した。

I encountered an event that is nearly impossible to forget.

皆(みんな)から近寄(ちかよ)りがたいってよく言(い)われます。

I am often told that I am hard to approach.

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Online
- Describing actions as easy or hard
  Tae Kim
- The difference between がたい、にくい、and づらい
  Japanese Stack Exchange

Offline
- [AIAIJ] An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese
  Page 293
- Tae Kim's Japanese Grammar Guide
  Page 277
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がたい – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (7 in total)

mrnoone

English translation:
hard to
difficult to

Structure:
Verb[stem] + がたい

Explanation:
[nearly impossible to…]

View on Bunpro
lopicake
Okay I still don’t know what the exact difference between にくい、づらい、and がたい is and I’ve read conflicting descriptions of them all.

First from the Resources linked by BP:

Tae Kim Link

「にくい」 tends to be used for physical actions while
「がたい」 is usually reserved for less physical actions that don’t actually require movement
「づらい」more coarse variation of stem + 「にくい」

JStackExchange Link

～にくい【～難い】
The most general of the three. Basic “hard/difficult to do ～” meaning.
～づらい【～辛い】
～づらい is usually a more subjective meaning, whereas ～にくい is usually more objective. Also, ～づら...
mrnoone
Hey

To sum up:

First of all にくい is the broadest term. It doesn’t have restrictions like the other two. Also, it describes objectively that something is hard. It can be used with transitive and intransitive verbs.

づらい describes speaker’s/writer’s aversion/reluctance to do something That is why it is more subjective. Also, it cannot be used with intransitive verbs.
電気が消えにくい。〇 The light is hard to turn off.
電気は消えづらい。 X

がたい is more formal than the rest. It is also like Stack answer said used to describe that something is impossible or almost impossible. So it is much stronger than “hard to”.

Therefore answer A, since 許しがたい means that it is absolutely intolerable. Unforgivable.
Not to mention 許しがたい is basically a fixed expression. I haven’t seen 許しづらい。
lopicake
Thank you so much for your reply! That clears it up a lot!

I realize they’re all saying the same thing but Tae Kim and 日本語の森 are just over-simplifying it. 完全マスターN2文法 doesn’t talk about the the impossibility emphasis.

Textbook case of why multiple sources are important.
mrnoone
That is because of space, kanzen master is a book made for reviewing rather than learning.
Johnathan-Weir
These videos might be worth adding:
ggw1776
I usually only do my drills with the english translations, which makes this sentence in particular pretty frustrating
Gabrielkarrer
can bunpro add the 辛い as a separate grammar point. In my practical case, i didnt use and know about it at all and accidentally come on it on a (all n4 grammar youtube video) to polish my grammar skill. If you know the nuance, its pretty useful.