JLPT N3
〜がたい
A president of such a large company being arrested is truly a hard-to-believe piece of news.
📖 Explanation & Nuance
ENGLISH EXPLANATION
「〜られない」 is the negative potential form of a verb. It means "cannot (do something)" or "it's impossible to (do something)." In this context, 「信じられない」 means "unbelievable" or "cannot believe," expressing a strong sense of disbelief or astonishment at an unexpected event.
JAPANESE EXPLANATION
「〜られない」は動詞の不可能形（可能動詞の否定形）です。「〜することができない」という意味を表します。「信じられない」は「とても信じることができない」という驚きの気持ちを表します。
📝 Example Sentence
あんなに大企業の社長が逮捕されるなんて、全く信じ「がたい」ニュースだ。
A president of such a large company being arrested is truly a hard-to-believe piece of news.
Practice Quiz
Verify your grammar strength for "〜がたい"
あんなに大企業の社長が逮捕されるなんて、全く信じ（ ）ニュースだ。
🎉 正解 / Correct!
解説 (JP): 「〜られない」は動詞の不可能形（可能動詞の否定形）です。「〜することができない」という意味を表します。「信じられない」は「とても信じることができない」という驚きの気持ちを表します。\n\nCommon Mistakes:\n❌ にくい: 'にくい' means 'physically difficult to do'. Believing a news story is a psychological process! For things that are hard to process emotionally, use '〜がたい'.\n❌ づらい: 'づらい' means 'painful/stressful to do' physically or mentally. For purely 'unable to accept' scenarios like a massive shock, '〜がたい' (信じがたい) is the legendary set phrase.\n❌ かねる: 'かねる' is used for polite refusal ('I cannot do that'). A news anchor wouldn't say 'I politely refuse to believe it'.
Explanation (EN): 「〜られない」 is the negative potential form of a verb. It means \"cannot (do something)\" or \"it's impossible to (do something).\" In this context, 「信じられない」 means \"unbelievable\" or \"cannot believe,\" expressing a strong sense of disbelief or astonishment at an unexpected event.\n\nCommon Mistakes:\n❌ にくい: 'にくい' means 'physically difficult to do'. Believing a news story is a psychological process! For things that are hard to process emotionally, use '〜がたい'.\n❌ づらい: 'づらい' means 'painful/stressful to do' physically or mentally. For purely 'unable to accept' scenarios like a massive shock, '〜がたい' (信じがたい) is the legendary set phrase.\n❌ かねる: 'かねる' is used for polite refusal ('I cannot do that'). A news anchor wouldn't say 'I politely refuse to believe it'.
Explanation (EN): 「〜られない」 is the negative potential form of a verb. It means \"cannot (do something)\" or \"it's impossible to (do something).\" In this context, 「信じられない」 means \"unbelievable\" or \"cannot believe,\" expressing a strong sense of disbelief or astonishment at an unexpected event.\n\nCommon Mistakes:\n❌ にくい: 'にくい' means 'physically difficult to do'. Believing a news story is a psychological process! For things that are hard to process emotionally, use '〜がたい'.\n❌ づらい: 'づらい' means 'painful/stressful to do' physically or mentally. For purely 'unable to accept' scenarios like a massive shock, '〜がたい' (信じがたい) is the legendary set phrase.\n❌ かねる: 'かねる' is used for polite refusal ('I cannot do that'). A news anchor wouldn't say 'I politely refuse to believe it'.
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