ない～はないThere is not ~ that is not/does not

Structure

Verb［ない］+ Noun + は + ない
［い］Adjective［ない］+ Noun + は + Verb［ない］
［な］Adjective + じゃない⁽¹⁾ + Noun + は + Verb［ない］

⁽¹⁾ ではない

Details

About ～ない～はない

～ない～はない is an example of a double negative in Japanese, and is a grammar construction that requires careful attention in order not to incorrectly interpret. Both the い-Adjective (形容詞(けいようし)), and auxiliary verb forms of ない may be used in this construction, depending on what type of word is being negated. Let's take a look at a few examples.

Literally, this grammar pattern is very similar to 'there isn't an (A) that doesn't (B)' in English.

Caution

This term is not to to be confused with なくはない, a more advanced grammar pattern which means 'It's not that it isn't (A)'.

Examples

--:--

本当(ほんとう)に書(か)けない漢字(かんじ)はないの？

Is there really not a single kanji that you cannot write?

夢(ゆめ)を見(み)ない人(ひと)はいないだろう。

There is not a single person who doesn't dream, right?

紙(かみ)を使(つか)わない会社(かいしゃ)は一(ひと)つもありません。

There is not a single company that does not use paper.

あそこのカフェで美味(おい)しくないコーヒーは絶対(ぜったい)ない。

There is no coffee at that cafe that is not delicious.

勉強(べんきょう)していない文法(ぶんぽう)はなかったから、テストには合格(ごうかく)しました。

There was not a single grammar point that I did not study, so I passed the test.

Get more example sentences!
Premium users get access to 12 example sentences on all Grammar Points.
Try Bunpro

Self-Study Sentences

Study your own way!

Add sentences and study them alongside Bunpro sentences.

Try Bunpro

Online
- Using multiple negatives in a sentence
  Maggie Sensei

Offline
- Tobira
  Page 172
Track Resources!
Bunpro tracks all of the resources you’ve visited, and offers relevant bookmarks of physical books to help with offline tracking.
Try Bunpro

～ない～はない – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (13 in total)

Pushindawood
There is not ~ that is not/does not
Structure
- いAdj[ くない ] + Verb[ ない ]
- なAdj[ じゃない ] + Verb[ ない ]
- Verb[ ない ] + Noun は + ない
View on Bunpro
deltacat3

私の家族の中で海外に行った ことのない 人はいない。
There is not a single person in my family who has not traveled abroad.

Why is の used here instead of が？ Is this a different from [たことがある]?
Pushindawood
@deltacat3 Hey! 行ったことのない is a relative clause and means the same thing as 行ったことがない. The clause modifies 人, so it means “the person who has never gone.” Here are some more examples of が being switched out for の. I hope this helps! Cheers.
Scyamntic
ゆめを見ない人 がいない だろうか。

Why is using が here instead of は also correct?

Grammar info seems to imply that it is not:
Verb[ ない ] + Noun は + ない
mrnoone
@Scyamntic
Hey and sorry for the late answer

This comes to the difference between が and は, to make it simple:
A) ゆめを見ない人がいないだろうか。=
In this room, ゆめを見ない人がいないだろうか。
In this building, ゆめを見ない人がいないだろうか。
In this city ゆめを見ない人がいないだろうか。
ゆめを見ない人 are THE “specific” people (and therefore limited)

vs

B) ゆめを見ない人はいないだろうか。=
Statement in “general”, ゆめを見ない人はいないだろうか。

This is why は generally fits better in this type of sentences, especially if there is no specific context.

I hope it makes it a bit more clear,
Cheers!
Scyamntic
That clears it up wonderfully as well as confirm a suspicion that I have had for a while that が has a specificity about it while は deals more the “thing as such”. Very illuminating thank you!
GregX999
Regarding this example:
mrnoone
@GregX999
Hey

Think of 絶対 in this sentence and context as a contraction of 絶対に, an adverb (adverbs can modify/describe adjectives, verbs, and other adverbs) meaning “absolutely”, not a noun. じゃない can only follow nouns and なadjectives so ない is used instead. By the way 絶対(に)ない is a commonly used expression that means: absolutely not/definitely not/no way and so on.

I hope it helps,
Cheers!

If something is not clear, feel free to ask
jw
Hi there, in this example

子供：好きじゃないクラスメイトはいないけど、まだ、できてないよ。

Does the て in できてないよ add a different nuance to what the kid’s saying?
nekoyama
The て is the reason why the translation says “I haven’t made any friends yet”. (できてない is the ている-form but with the い dropped.)

Without the て, it just means “I can’t make friends”.
evandcs
why the answer in this sentence is only ない?

あそこのカフェで美味（おい）しくないコーヒーは絶対（ぜったい）ない。

shouldn’t it be はない?
FredKore
Because the は already occurs earlier in the sentence, and it’s tied to コーヒー. In this sentence, 絶対 (absolutely, no way) is an adverb describing ない. You could make the same sentence without 絶対 and it’d be the same meaning but a little softer.
あそこのカフェで美味しくないコーヒーはない。
At that cafe, there’s no coffee that is not delicious.
evandcs
but in this case

ボスの家（いえ）にはテレビを置（お）いていない部屋（へや）はない。

there was a は before. Shouldnt it be only ない too?
FredKore
You can have more than one は. Each one goes with a different topic.
The ideas are grouped together like this:
ボスの家には【（テレビを置いていない部屋）はない】
Within the topic of: ボスの家に…
There is none of: ない…
The topic of: テレビを置いていない部屋.