Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 5: 7/22

訳(わけ)がないThere is no way, There is no reason, It is impossible, Cannot be

Structure

Verb［る］(1) + わけがない
［な］Adjective + な + わけがない
［い］Adjective + わけがない

(1) Verb［た］

Details

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About わけがない

One of the strongest ways to use the noun わけ in Japanese, is in the expression わけがない. This is regularly translated as 'there is no way that (A)', or 'it is impossible that (A)'. However, as mentioned in other わけ lessons, わけ is used very similarly to 'so' in English, so may also be thought of as 'it is SO not (A)', with 'so' being used for emphasis. In this structure, わけ is combined with the case marking particle が, and the い-Adjective ない.

わけがない may be used with verbs, or adjectives in their attributive form.

Caution

Compared to わけではない, わけがない is much stronger, and emphasizes the 'non-existence' of something. This can be thought of as similar to the difference between 'it is so that it isn't (A)' (for わけではない), and 'it is SO not (A)' (for わけがない).

'It is so that it isn't (A)' highlights that (A) is a thing that exists, but not in the way of (A). On the other hand, 'it is SO not (A)' highlights that no part of (A) whatsoever can be considered to be correct/accurate.

Related

Examples

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    彼(かれ)が嘘(うそ)をつくわけがない。

    There is no way he would lie.

    あんな大(だい)ニュース、知(し)らないわけがない。

    There is no way not to know this. It is such big news!

    日本人(にほんじん)ならそんなことを言(い)うわけがない。

    There is no way that a Japanese person would say that.

    あれだけ着込(きこ)んだら寒(さむ)いわけがない。

    There is no reason why you would feel cold, wearing all those extra clothes.

    そんなやり方(かた)でうまくいくわけがない。

    With the way you're doing it, it is impossible for it to go well.

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わけがない – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (7 in total)

  • mrnoone

    mrnoone

    English translation:
    there is no reason
    it is impossible

    Structure:
    Verb[ る / ない ] + わけがない
    Verb[ よう ] + わけがない
    なAdj + な + わけがない
    いAdj + わけがない

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  • Anthropos888

    Anthropos888

    I don’t really get the difference between
    ないわけがない、ないわけではない and ないことはない.

    How would the meaning of this example sentence change in each case?

    1. 翼があるんだから、飛べないわけがない。
    2. 翼があるんだから、飛べないわけではない。
    3. 翼があるんだから、飛べないことはない。
  • mrnoone

    mrnoone

    @Anthropos888
    Hey

    わけ literally translated means “reason, meaning”.

    It is used when expressed conclusion from reasoning, judgment, calculation, something just seen, something just heard, etc.

    Example:
    A: この時計は金からできている。This watch is made of gold. (Just heard information)
    B: だから通りで重いわけだよ！No wonder it is so heavy! (conclusion from)

    (there are MANY uses of this expression)

    As you know, がある is used to express that something exists, and わけがない expresses that something does not exist.

    So if we connect what we know about わけ and がない, it becomes clear that わけがない means that the reason for something happening does not exist. In other words, something is impossible. VERY STRONG NEGATION.
    It is similar to っこない ...

  • mrnoone

    mrnoone

    Imo, I would say:

    翼があるんだから飛べないことはない（が、短い時間だけ飛べる。or someting like that).

  • Anthropos888

    Anthropos888

    Great, thanks for your explanation!
    So ないことはない and ないわけではない are interchangeable in most case? But using ないわけではない sounds a bit softer?

  • Anthropos888

    Anthropos888

    Here another example from the JLPT 2 exam:

    暑い地方でも、泥と草で太陽光線を避ける家を作れば、激しくなるという _____。

    1. わけがない

    2. わけにはいかない

    3. わけだ

    4. わけではない

    When I see all the different わけ together my brain just shuts off

    So except for 3) the other answers wouldn’t make any sense at all?

  • blacktide

    blacktide

    I see the following note on this grammar point:

    わけがない can be replaced with はずがない, but not always the other way around

    Would it be that はずがない doesn’t denote the same level of impossiblility as わけがない? Like はずがない is very unlikely but not impossible, whereas わけがない is certainly impossible?

  • Daru

    Daru

    Exactly! Its all about level of certainty/possibility.

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