Structure
Verb + わけではない(1)
[い]Adjective + わけではない(1)
[な]Adjective + な + わけではない(1)
Noun + の(2) + わけではない(1)
(1)わけじゃない
(2) である
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Standard
使用域
一般
About わけではない
As mentioned in the 訳だ grammar point, わけ is a noun that is used for strong determination/conclusion in Japanese, in the same way that 'so' is in English. Naturally, this determination may sometimes be negative, as is the case with わけではない. ではない being the conjugated form of the auxiliary verb だ, the adverbial particle は, and the い-Adjective ない.
わけではない may be translated as 'it doesn't mean that (A)', or 'it's not the case that (A)'. Although, 'it is not necessarily so that it's (A)', or 'so it's not (A)' are closer to the actual nuance of わけ. わけではない can be used at the end of any sentence, so long as the word before わけ is in attributive form.
わけではない may be translated as 'it doesn't mean that (A)', or 'it's not the case that (A)'. Although, 'it is not necessarily so that it's (A)', or 'so it's not (A)' are closer to the actual nuance of わけ. わけではない can be used at the end of any sentence, so long as the word before わけ is in attributive form.
- 日本に住んでいるから日本語を話せるわけではないです。私は日本に来る前に日本語の勉強をしていました。It is not the case that I am able to speak Japanese because I live in Japan. I studied Japanese before I came.
- 私の家は広いわけではないけど、小さくもない。It is not necessarily that my house is big, but it is not small either.
- 仕事が大変なわけではない。忙しいだけ。It's not that my job is difficult, it's just busy.
- 熱のわけではないけど、体がだるい。It's not necessarily that I have a fever, but my body feels heavy.
- あの監督は有名だけど、映画を監督して有名になったわけじゃない。That director is famous, but he did not become popular because he directed a movie.
- あなたが悪かったって言っているわけじゃない。It's not that I am saying that you were in the wrong. (I am not strictly saying that you were in the wrong)
Fun Fact
わけだ and わけではない match the explanatory meaning of 'so' in English that often replaces words like 'because' and 'since'. However, as we will examine in more detail in the わけがない grammar point, わけ also matches the emphatic nuance of 'so', as can be seen in statements like 'it's SO not (A)'.- あなたの事が嫌いというわけではない。It's not necessarily so that I dislike you. (But I sure don't love you)
- あなたの事が嫌いというわけがない。I so don't dislike you. (I don't dislike you at all)
Synonyms
というものでもない
There is no guarantee that…, Not necessarily
Not studied yet
はずがない
Hardly possible, Cannot be, Highly unlikely, Improbable
Not studied yet
というわけではない
It is not that, It doesn't mean that, It is not always the case
Not studied yet
わけがない
There is no way, There is no reason, It is impossible, Cannot be
Not studied yet
とは限らない
Not necessarily so, Is not always true, There is no guarantee that
Not studied yet
Examples
A:「北海道といえば、Cさんによれば一年中寒いらしい。」
B:「夏でも寒いわけではない。」A: 'Speaking of Hokkaido, according to C it is cold there all year long.'
B: 'It doesn't mean it is cold even in summer.'A:「Cさんは日本に十年以上住んでる。日本語が上手だろうね。」
B:「日本に長い間住んでも、日本語を話せるわけではないよ。」A: 'C has been living in Japan for over ten years. His Japanese is probably amazing, right?'
B: 'Even if he has lived in Japan for a long time it doesn't mean he can speak Japanese.'A:「天気予報によると明日は晴れるだろう。」
B:「雨が降らないわけではない。」A: 'The weather forecast calls for clear skies tomorrow.'
B: 'It doesn't mean it won't rain.'A:「また試合に負けたよ。もう我慢できない!泣いちゃいたい!」
B:「いつもうまくいくわけではない。失敗はつきものだ。」A: 'I lost a match again! I can't stand it anymore! I want to cry!'
B: 'It is not the case that things will always turn out well. Failures are an unavoidable part of life.'A:「あなたはデートを忘れたわ!私は腹が立っているから話しかけないで!」
B:「遅くなってしまいましたが、忘れていたわけではありませんよ。」A: 'You forgot about our date! I am angry, so don't speak to me!'
B: 'I may have been late, but that doesn't mean that I forgot.'腹が立つ means 'to get angry' or 'to get upset'.
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わけではない and わけがない
Maggie Sensei
接続・意味・使い方・例文
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[AIAIJ] An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese
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わけではない – Grammar Discussion
Most Recent Replies (3 in total)
Johnathan-Weir
About 3 years ago
So it says that じゃない can be used too but in polite speech would it be more common to say
じゃないです or ではないです
What about in informal speech?
wrt7MameLZE33wlmpCAV
About 2 years ago
I think the answer to this is “yes,” but is わけでもない more or less just a more emphatic version of わけではない? Here’s a context sentence:
(From Boundary Gate: Daughter of Kingdom, a 1997 PC-FX game)
SevenZeven
About 1 year ago
I got the following sentence in my reviews:
A: 「また試合に負けたよ。もう我慢できない!泣いちゃいたい!」
B:「いつもうまくいくわけではない 。失敗はつきものだ。」and confused it with the “というわけではない” grammar point, which was marked as a wrong answer.
It seems like “という” in this sentence would at the very least be redundant, so my questions are: 1) would it also be grammatically incorrect, and 2) are these actually two separate grammar points?
Any help appreciated!
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