Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 8: 22/22

考(かんが)えられない

Unthinkable, Inconceivable, Unimaginable, Cannot think

Structure

Noun + など(1) + 考(かんが)えられない
Phrase + ということは(2) + 考(かんが)えられない

(1) なんて、は
(2) ことは、など、なんて

Details

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    Standard

  • 使用域

    一般

About 考えられない

考(かんが)えられない is the negative potential form of the る - Verb 考(かんが)える 'to consider'. It will regularly be used after the adverbial particle など (なんか, or なんて), or any expression that nominalizes a phrase, like ということは.
考(かんが)えられない is regularly translated as '(A) is unimaginable', or '(A) is unthinkable', which is quite close to the literal meaning.
  • 20年前(ねんまえ)には携帯(けいたい)で映画(えいが)見(み)たりゲームなど出来(でき)るとは考(かんが)えられなかったでしょう。
    It was probably unthinkable that you could watch movies and play video games on your phone 20 years ago.
  • 人(ひと)に手(て)を出(だ)すなんて私(わたし)には考(かんが)えられない。
    It is unimaginable that I would raise my hand at a person.
  • あんな小(ちい)さい人(ひと)が相撲(すもう)をやろうと思(おも)ったということは考(かんが)えられない。
    It is unthinkable to imagine a person that small decided they wanted to do sumo.
  • 人(ひと)違(ちが)いだったことは考(かんが)えられないか？
    Is it unthinkable that you misremembered the person?
Caution
While 考(かんが)えられない refers to the inability to think of a certain thing, 考(かん)えない 'to not consider', or 考(かんが)えていない 'to not be considering' express something that the speaker has control over. Due to this, only 考(かんが)えられない may be used when implying something that is unbelievable.
  • 死(し)んだ後(あと)のことなどほとんど考(かんが)えない。
    I don't think about what happens after dying.
  • 結婚(けっこん)した後(あと)の事(こと)など考(かんが)えていない。
    I haven't thought about what happens after marrying.
  • 妻(つま)と離婚(りこん)することなど考(かんが)えられない。
    It is unimaginable that I would get a divorce with my wife.

Examples

  • 友達(ともだち)との話(はなし)：「子供(こども)がそんな難(むずか)しい数学(すうがく)の問題(もんだい)を解(と)くということは考(かんが)えられない。」

    Chat between friends: 'It is unthinkable for a child to solve such a difficult mathematical problem.'

    Depending on the context, this can mean either complete disbelief, implying that someone else solved the problem (negative meaning), or words of praise (positive meaning).

  • ブログの投稿(とうこう)：「電子(でんし)なしの生活(せいかつ)は私(わたし)には考(かんが)えられない。」

    Blog post: 'Life without electronics is unimaginable for me.'

  • 新聞(しんぶん)：「靴(くつ)を脱(ぬ)がずに家(いえ)に上(あ)がることは、日本(にほん)では考(かんが)えられない行為(こうい)ですが、アメリカでは普通(ふつう)です。」

    Newspaper: 'Entering a house without removing your shoes is an unthinkable act in Japan, but it is normal in the USA.'

  • 友達(ともだち)との話(はなし)：「まさかあんなに真面目(まじめ)な人(ひと)が、物(もの)を盗(ぬす)むなんて考(かんが)えられない。」

    Chat between friends: 'It is absolutely inconceivable that such a serious person would do something like stealing.'

  • 友達(ともだち)との話(はなし)：「昨日(きのう)まで元気(げんき)だったのに、急(きゅう)に亡(な)くなるなんて考(かんが)えられない。」

    Chat between friends: 'Despite being healthy just yesterday, (he) suddenly died. It's something unimaginable.'

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考えられない – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (2 in total)

  • MZa

    MZa

    In this grammar point, although we have the potential form of 考える we do not use the が particle but the は particle. I was wondering whether it is to use the contrastive function of the は particle.

  • Daru

    Daru

    Yeah! It marks the stop where you say: ‘All of this sentence, THAT is unthinkable.’ Good catch!

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