Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 4: 8/21

(わけ)ではない

It doesn't mean that, It is not the case, It's not like

では can be replaced with じゃ

Structure

Verb + わけではない(1)
[い]Adjective + わけではない(1)
[な]Adjective + + わけではない(1)
Noun + (2) + わけではない(1)

(1)わけじゃない
(2) である

Details

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    Standard

  • 使用域

    一般

About わけではない

As mentioned in the (わけ)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 , 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.
  • 日本(にほん)()でいるから日本語(にほんご)(はな)せるわけではないです(わたし)日本(にほん)()(まえ)日本語(にほんご)勉強(べんきょう)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.
  • (わたし)(いえ)(ひろ)わけではないけど(ちい)さくもない。
    It is not necessarily that my house is big, but it is not small either.
  • 仕事(しごと)大変(たいへん)なわけではない(いそが)しいだけ
    It's not that my job is difficult, it's just busy.
  • (ねつ)のわけではないけど(からだ)だるい。
    It's not necessarily that I have a fever, but my body feels heavy.
As always, では may be replaced by じゃ.
  • あの監督(かんとく)有名(ゆうめい)だけど映画(えいが)監督(かんとく)して有名(ゆうめい)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(わる)かったって()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(こと)(きら)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(こと)(きら)というわけがない
    I so don't dislike you. (I don't dislike you at all)

Examples

  • A:「北海道(ほっかいどう)といえば、Cさんによれば一年中(いちねんじゅう)(さむ)らしい。」
    B:「(なつ)でも(さむ)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さん日本(にっぽん)十年(じゅうねん)以上(いじょう)()んでる。日本語(にほんご)上手(じょうず)だろうね。」
    B:「日本(にっぽん)(なが)(あいだ)()でも日本語(にほんご)(はな)せるわけではない。」

    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(てんき)予報(よほう)によると明日(あした)()れるだろう。」
    B:「(あめ)()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(しあい)()けたもう我慢(がまん)できない!()いちゃいたい!」
    B:「いつもうまくいくわけではない失敗(しっぱい)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:「あなたデート(わす)れたわ!(わたし)(はら)()っているから(はな)しかけないで!」
    B:「(おそ)なってしまいましたが、(わす)れていたわけではありません。」

    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 – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (3 in total)

  • Johnathan-Weir

    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

    wrt7MameLZE33wlmpCAV

    About 2 years ago

    I think the answer to this is “yes,” but is わけでない 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

    SevenZeven

    About 1 year ago

    I got the following sentence in my reviews:

    A: 「また試合しあいけたよ。もう我慢がまんできない!いちゃいたい!」
    B:「いつもうまくいくわけではない失敗しっぱいはつきものだ。」

    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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