Structure
決して + Verb［ない］
決して + ［い］Adjective［ない］
決して + ［な］Adjective + ではない(1)
決して + Noun + ではない(1)
(1) じゃない
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Standard
About 決して〜ない
決して by itself is the て form of the verb 決する 'to determine'. However 決して is special in that it is considered to be a stand-alone adverb. As an adverb, it carries the meaning of 'decidedly', or 'assuredly', and is used in sentences that contain ない, in order to convey 'never (A)', 'under no circumstances (A)' or 'by no means (A)'.
Like many other adverbs in Japanese, 決して can appear at the beginning of a sentence, or directly before the word it is modifying (which will be in its ない form).
While the translation is 'never', the literal meaning of 決して is 'decidedly not (A)', or 'assuredly not (A)', simply emphasizing the negative point within a sentence.
Caution
決して may also sometimes be paired with other structures that are not specifically negative, the primary example of this being ものか (a grammar point that we will learn about later). ものか strongly confirms a statement as being something that does not exist/will not be done.
Related
Examples
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嘘をついたら決してゆるさない。
I will never forgive you if you lie to me.
何があっても、決して諦めない。
I will never give up, no matter what happens.
彼は決して妥協しない人だ。
He is a person that never compromises.
あの人は決して嘘をつかない。
That person never tells lies.
あなたのことは決して忘れません。
I will never forget you.
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決して〜ない – Grammar Discussion
Most Recent Replies (9 in total)
Yryrdz
Can this grammar point work with negative desire form? I.E; 決して諦めたくない。I don’t see why not but I’m just confirming here.
Daru
Straight from the writeup:
As an adverb, it carries the meaning of ‘decidedly’, or ‘assuredly’, and is used in sentences that contain ない, in order to convey ‘never (A)’, ‘under no circumstances (A)’ or ‘by no means (A)’.
So yeah! It can be used with ～たくない. The key here is for the verb to be in its ない form.
homa
Isn’t this English translation incorrect?
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