Structure
Noun + など(1) + 考えられない
Phrase + ということは(2) + 考えられない
(1) なんて、は
(2) ことは、など、なんて
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Standard
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一般
About 考えられない
考えられない is the negative potential form of the る - Verb 考える '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.
考えられない is regularly translated as '(A) is unimaginable', or '(A) is unthinkable', which is quite close to the literal meaning.
考えられない is regularly translated as '(A) is unimaginable', or '(A) is unthinkable', which is quite close to the literal meaning.
- 20年前には携帯で映画見たりゲームなど出来るとは考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.
- 人に手を出すなんて私には考えられない。It is unimaginable that I would raise my hand at a person.
- あんな小さい人が相撲をやろうと思ったということは考えられない。It is unthinkable to imagine a person that small decided they wanted to do sumo.
- 人違いだったことは考えられないか?Is it unthinkable that you misremembered the person?
Caution
While 考えられない refers to the inability to think of a certain thing, 考えない 'to not consider', or 考えていない 'to not be considering' express something that the speaker has control over. Due to this, only 考えられない may be used when implying something that is unbelievable.- 死んだ後のことなどほとんど考えない。I don't think about what happens after dying.
- 結婚した後の事など考えていない。I haven't thought about what happens after marrying.
- 妻と離婚することなど考えられない。It is unimaginable that I would get a divorce with my wife.
Examples
友達との話:「子供がそんな難しい数学の問題を解くということは考えられない。」
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:「電子なしの生活は私には考えられない。」
Blog post: 'Life without electronics is unimaginable for me.'
新聞:「靴を脱がずに家に上がることは、日本では考えられない行為ですが、アメリカでは普通です。」
Newspaper: 'Entering a house without removing your shoes is an unthinkable act in Japan, but it is normal in the USA.'
友達との話:「まさかあんなに真面目な人が、物を盗むなんて考えられない。」
Chat between friends: 'It is absolutely inconceivable that such a serious person would do something like stealing.'
友達との話:「昨日まで元気だったのに、急に亡くなるなんて考えられない。」
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
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
Yeah! It marks the stop where you say: ‘All of this sentence, THAT is unthinkable.’ Good catch!
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