Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 9: 1/22

必(かなら)ずしもNot always, Not entirely, Not necessarily

Structure

必(かなら)ずしも + Phrase + わけではない(1)
必(かなら)ずしも + Phrase + とは限(かぎ)らない
必(かなら)ずしも + Phrase + とは言(い)えない


(1) わけじゃない

Details

  • Standard

About 必ずしも

Although it is often considered a stand-alone adverb, 必(かなら)ずしも is a combination of the adverb 必(かなら)ず 'invariably', or 'certainly', and the adverbial particles し and も. し and も are often combined in order to strengthen the meaning of the word before it. Due to this, 必(かならず)ずしも may be translated as something similar to 'absolutely certainly'.

However, 必(かならず)ずしも is an expression that is only used in negative sentences, so is commonly translated as 'not always (A)', 'not entirely (A)', or 'not necessarily (A)'. Despite this, the literal meaning is close to 'not absolutely certainly (A)'. 必(かならず)ずしも is often used at the beginning of a phrase, before expressing something that is not 100% certain.

Related

Examples

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  • 失敗(しっぱい)は必(かなら)ずしも悪(わる)いわけではない。

    Failure is not necessarily bad.

  • 必(かなら)ずしも上達(じょうたつ)するわけではない。

    You will not necessarily become more proficient.

  • 思(おも)い出(で)が必(かなら)ずしも美(うつく)しいとは限(かぎ)らない。

    Memories are not always beautiful.

  • 天気(てんき)予報(よほう)は必(かなら)ずしも当(あ)たるわけではない。

    Forecasts are not always right.

  • 必(かなら)ずしもこの情報(じょうほう)が正(ただ)しいとは限(かぎ)らない。

    This information is not necessarily correct.

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      必ずしも – Grammar Discussion

      Most Recent Replies (8 in total)

      • Pablunpro

        Pablunpro

        Hi!

        It is the 必ずしも grammar point (N3, lesson 9, first grammar point).

        HTH!

      • CrisH

        CrisH

        I can see that it refers to it as an adverbial particle but doesn’t go into detail. I’m only familiar with し as a list indicator. Is it the second point here in this case, then?

        image1014×111 6...
      • JamesBunpro

        JamesBunpro

        It is neither of those. Those are both the use of し as a conjunctive particle (接続助詞); your source has the second use down as a sentence-ending particle however I would personally consider this to be the same particle in both uses (I think most dictionaries do as well).

        The use as an adverbial particle (副助詞) is for emphasis however it is not common at all in modern Japanese when on its own. Here is a video of someone explaining this as part of a 古文 (old Japanese) lesson.

        しも is an extension of this emphatic use in phrases like 誰しも・今しも but also is used in negative phrases to show a sort of partial or tentative negation, as in the case of 必ずしも～ない (“it’s not that it absolutely always is the case that…”).

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