Grammar Info

N4 Lesson 5: 19/20

少(すこ)しも～ないNot even a little, Not at all, Not in the least, Never

Structure

すこしも + Verb［ない］
すこしも + ［い］Adjective［ない］
すこしも + ［な］Adjective + ではない(1)

(1) じゃない

Details

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About すこしも～ない

Coming from the word 少(すこ)し (a little bit), すこしも～ない is an expression which translates almost exactly to 'not even a little bit (A)' in English. Due to this, it indicates that there is 'no (A)', '(A) never happens', or 'not (A) at all', depending on whether a verb or an adjective is the word that is being negated. すこしも can come at the beginning of the sentence, or directly before the word/statement it is referring to.

Fun Fact

This construction is another example of how the も particle expresses that the word before it is surprising in some way, or unexpected. This was briefly discussed in the Number + も grammar point.

  • 今月(こんげつ)もお金(かね)がすこしもない。
    I don't have any money this month either.

Here we can see that も is highlighting 少(すこ)し as being 'surprising'. This is where the 'not even!' meaning comes from.

Examples

--:--

    この景色(けしき)は少(すこ)しも綺麗(きれい)ではない。

    This scenery is not pretty at all.

    あの店(みせ)のケーキは少(すこ)しも美味(おい)しくない。

    That store's cake is not delicious in the least.

    少(すこ)しも暑(あつ)くないのに、汗(あせ)をかいている。

    It is not in the least bit hot, but I am sweating.

    ガソリンの値段(ねだん)が少(すこ)しも下(さ)がらないね。

    The price of gasoline has not dropped in the least.

    今(いま)の話(はなし)が少(すこ)しも理解(りかい)出来(でき)なかった。

    I did not understand the conversation in the least.

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      すこしも～ない – Grammar Discussion

      Most Recent Replies (2 in total)

      • hergimerc

        hergimerc

        Is this grammar point has the same meaning like 全く…ない ?

      • Daru

        Daru

        They resemble each other a lot as they both express a severe lack of something to make a point.

        Going literal, すこしも～ない means ‘not even a bit of x’ whereas まったく～ない means ‘completely NOT x’. It’s more a matter of degree and expression mostly!

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