Grammar Info

N1 Lesson 7: 6/17

に足(た)りない

To not be worthy, To not be enough, To not be sufficient, To lack

に足らない is an older variant.

Structure

Verb + に足(た)りない

Details

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    Formal

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    敬語

About に足りない

に足(た)りない is a grammar expression appearing after the dictionary form of verbs used to indicate that something is 'not worth (A)', or 'not sufficient for (A)'. It comes from a combination of the case-marking particle に, and the る-Verb 足(た)りる 'to be sufficient', or 'to be enough'.
This structure is formal, so will mostly be used in literature or formal speech settings.
  • 彼(かれ)は陰謀論者(いんぼうろんしゃ)だから、あの人(ひと)のいうことは信(しん)じるに足(た)りない。
    He is a conspiracy theorist so nothing he says is worth believing.
  • あの人(ひと)は自分(じぶん)を良(よ)くみせるためだったら、すぐに自分(じぶん)の失敗(しっぱい)を人(ひと)のせいにするから、彼(かれ)は信頼(しんらい)するに足(た)りない。
    He will blame others for his own mistakes, just to make himself look good, so he is not worth trusting.
  • ブランド物(ものう)のバッグをリサイクルショップに売(う)りに行(い)ったけど、買取(かいとり)の金額(きんがく)が売(う)るに足(た)りない金額(きんがく)だった。
    I went to sell a designer brand bag to a secondhand store, but the purchase price was not enough for me to sell it.
While に足(た)りない may be similar to another grammar point, に足(た)る, in that they are conversely pointing out the worth, or lack of worth of something, they are actually different verbs. 足(た)る is an う-Verb, and is often used more in literature, or in western Japan. This means that the negative form of 足(た)る is 足(た)らない, not 足(た)りない.
Caution
Both 足(た)りない and 足(た)らない may be used as part of the set phrase 取(と)るに足(た)りない, 'to be worthless', or 'to not be worth taking up for discussion'.
  • 周(まわ)りから見(み)ると取(と)るに足(た)りない、ただのゴミだが、私(わたし)にとっては大切(たいせつ)なコレクションの一部(いちぶ)だ。
    From the perspective of the people around me, it's nothing but a worthless piece of garbage, but to me they are an important part of my collection.
  • この部品(ぶひん)は取(と)るにたらない物(もの)のように見(み)えるかもしれないが、これが壊(こわ)れたら、この機械(きかい)は動(うご)かなくなる。
    This component may seem insignificant, but if it breaks, this machine will stop working.

Examples

  • 他人(たにん)から見(み)たら取(と)るに足(た)りない、小(ちい)さな貝(かい)にすぎないが、私(わたし)にとってはあの日(ひ)のお土産(みやげ)だ。

    From another person's perspective, it is nothing but a worthless, small shell, yet for me, it is a souvenir of that day.

  • 記事(きじ)：「失敗(しっぱい)など全(まった)く恐(おそ)れるに足(た)りない。なぜなら、間違(まちが)えたり、失敗(しっぱい)することは、人(ひと)として成長(せいちょう)するからである。」

    Article: 'The likes of failure are not worth fearing at all. It is because of mistakes, that we grow as people.'

    恐れるに足らない is an older variant that can be sometimes seen in literature.

  • ロジャー・キントの言葉(ことば)は一(ひと)つとして信(しん)じるに足(た)りないことだ。

    Not even one word of Roger Kint is worth believing.

  • 現代(げんだい)の人類(じんるい)は、多忙(たぼう)である為(ため)、自然(しぜん)の美(うつく)しさなどは注目(ちゅうもく)するに足(た)りないものと思(おも)って、常(つね)に無視(むし)しているきらいがある。

    Due to the fast-paced life, modern humans have a tendency to ignore the beauty of nature regarding it as something that is not worth our attention.

  • 狼(おおかみ)少年(しょうねん)は嘘(うそ)を重(かさ)ねた結果(けっか)、信(しん)ずるに足(た)りないやつだと村人(むらびと)に思(おも)われるようになった。

    As a result of his repeated lies, the boy who cried wolf has come to be regarded as untrustworthy by the villagers.

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