Grammar Info

N1 Lesson 8: 5/19

といっ + たらないCannot tell, describe, say or express how, Words cannot express, Too … for words, Extremely

Structure

More common pairings:
Noun + いったらない(1)
[い]Adjective[さ](2) + いったらない(1)

Less common pairings:
Verb + いったらない(1)
[な]Adjective + いったらない(1)

(1)たらない
(2)[い]Adjective

Details

  • Register

    Standard

About ったらない・といったらない

といったらない is a casual expression used when something is at a level such that not even (A) is sufficient to describe it. It is usually translated as 'there are no words to express (A)', or 'too (A) for words'. This structure is a combination of the case-marking particle と, the conjunction particle たら 'when', or 'if', and the い-Adjective ない. It may be used in either positive or negative contexts.

といったらない, or the shortened form ったらない may appear after adjectives or nouns in their standard forms.

The ない in this grammar pattern is commonly thought to be an abbreviation of ありはしない, or ありゃしない, the conjunctive form of the う-Verb ある combined with the case marking particle は, and the negated form of する, しない. In this way, a more literal meaning can be thought of as 'if one were to say (A), it's not possible'.

Caution

As this expression highlights an extreme amount, い-Adjectives will often be used with the さ suffix added, specifically to indicate amount.

Examples

--:--

    このラーメンの美味(おい)しさったらない…。ついつい()べてしまうんだ。

    Words cannot express how delicious this ramen is. I can’t stop eating it.

    (くるま)のタイヤが(ぬす)まれた。本当(ほんとう)(はら)()ったらない。」

    'My car tires have been stolen. I can't tell you how angry I am!'

    校長(こうちょう)鹿(しか)との(たたか)いを()たときの(おどろ)といったらないよ。」

    'I can't describe my surprise at seeing a fight between the principal and a deer.'

    メークした(とき)星野(ほしの)()わり(よう)()ったらなかった。まるで別人(べつじん)のようだった。

    I couldn't describe how much Hoshino has changed when she put on the makeup. She was like a different person.

    (すう)(ねん)()ったのにまだあの()日没(にちぼつ)(おぼ)えている。その景色(けしき)(うつく)しさ()ったらなかった

    Even though years have passed, I can still remember the sunset that day. I couldn't describe the beauty of the scene in words.

  • Get more example sentences!

    Premium users get access to 12 example sentences on all Grammar Points.

Self-Study Sentences

Study your own way!

Add sentences and study them alongside Bunpro sentences.

  • Online


    • Offline

        • A Dictionary of Advanced Japanese Grammar

          Page 678

        • Shin Kanzen Master N1 Bunpou

          Page 84

        • Sou Matome Bunpou N1

          Page 118

        • Try N1

          Page 121

      • Track Resources!

        Bunpro tracks all of the resources you’ve visited, and offers relevant bookmarks of physical books to help with offline tracking.

      ったらない・といったらない – Grammar Discussion

      Most Recent Replies (2 in total)

      • Jake

        Jake

        cannot tell/describe/say/express how
        words cannot express
        too … for words
        extremely

        Structure
        More common:

        • Noun + ったらない/といったらない
        • いAdj/(いAdj + さ) + ったらない/といったらない

        Less common:

        • Verb + ったらない/といったらない
        • なAdj + ったらない/といったらない

        View on Bunpro

      • Elliotjoyner3

        Elliotjoyner3

        Doesn’t the explanation that “This structure is a combination of the case-marking particle と, the conjunction particle たら ‘when’, or ‘if’, and the い-Adjective ない.” miss the fact that いったら is a conjugation of いう (言う)?

      • nminer

        nminer

        Just checking my understanding of this grammar point. . . Are ったらない/といったらない always interchangeable with といったらありはしない/といったらありゃしない?

        I feel like I often see といったらありゃしない used in the Vocab deck, and wondering if there are any nuance differences between the two.

        If they are completely interchangeable, would it be possible to add a note saying that in the grammar explanation and adding it as a possible answer for Review questions? Currently, it seems to only accept ったらない/といったらない, which made me wonder if sometimes they can’t be used interchangeably. There also doesn’t appear to be a separate grammar point for といったらありはしない/といったらありゃしない that I could find.

        @Fuga for visibility. Thanks!

      Got questions about ったらない・といったらない? Join us to discuss, ask, and learn together!

      Join the Discussion