Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 10: 1/20

がたい

Hard to, Difficult to

Structure

Verb［ます］+ がたい

Details

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    Standard

  • 使用域

    一般

About がたい

Coming from the same kanji as 難(むずか)しい 'difficult', 難(がた)い is a suffix that also means 'difficult'. However, in the case of がたい, it will be attached to the conjunctive form of verbs, and conveys that '(A) is difficult to do'. がたい is almost always written without kanji in this meaning.
  • あいつが言(い)う事(こと)は信(しん)じがたいが、今(いま)は信(しん)じるしかない。
    It is hard to believe what he says, but we have no choice but to trust him.
  • 言(い)いがたかったから言(い)わなかったけど、シャツ反対(はんたい)だよ。
    I didn't say this because it's hard to say, but your shirt is inside out.
Compared to にくい, which can simply imply that something is 'uncomfortable' to do, がたい refers almost exclusively to 困難(こんなん)であること 'things that involve a high degree of difficulty, distress, or infeasibility'. Due to this, がたい will come across as far stronger than にくい, and may imply that a certain task is almost impossible.
  • 彼(かれ)の声(こえ)は聞(き)こえにくい。
    His voice is a bit tricky to hear. (It is kind of hard to hear his voice, based on my ability/feeling)
  • この話(はなし)が信(しん)じがたいのは分(わ)かるが、信(しん)じてくれ！
    I understand that this story is impossible to believe, but please believe me! (Believing something like this is not easy)
Summed up, these nuances basically translate as the following:
にくい - Something is difficult based on someone's opinion, experience, or general feeling.
がたい - Something is difficult based on the task itself having a high level of difficulty.

Examples

  • 皆(みんな)から近寄(ちかよ)りがたいってよく言(い)われます。

    I am often told that I am hard to approach.

  • あの人(ひと)の言(い)っていることは信(しん)じがたいですね。

    It's hard to believe what that person is saying.

  • 皆(みんな)はその映画(えいが)が面白(おもしろ)いって言(い)っているけど、僕(ぼく)はその映画(えいが)が成功(せいこう)するとは言(い)いがたい。

    Everyone is saying that that movie is interesting, but I find it hard to say that it will succeed. (Casual)

  • 忘(わす)れがたい出来事(できごと)に遭遇(そうぐう)した。

    I encountered an event that is nearly impossible to forget.

  • その人(ひと)は信(しん)じがたいほど勇敢(ゆうかん)だった。

    That person was brave to the point that was nearly impossible to believe.

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がたい – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (6 in total)

  • mrnoone

    mrnoone

    That is because of space, kanzen master is a book made for reviewing rather than learning.

  • Johnathan-Weir

    Johnathan-Weir

    These videos might be worth adding:

  • ggw1776

    ggw1776

    I usually only do my drills with the english translations, which makes this sentence in particular pretty frustrating

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