このスーツケースに入っている偽札は少なくない。
The amount of counterfeit money in this suitcase is not insignificant.

Yo, peep this. 少なくない literally means “not a little” or “not few.” It’s a double negative, playboy. Instead of just sayin’ 多い , which means “a lot,” you hit ’em with this. It’s like you’re downplaying it, but everybody knows what you really mean. You’re sayin’ the number of your crew, the stacks in your safe, or the problems you got… it’s a considerable amount. It ain’t a small thing. It carries weight. It’s got that “more than you’d think” vibe. It’s the linguistic equivalent of Tony Montana lookin’ at a mountain of yayo and sayin’, “It ain’t nothin’.” We all know it’s somethin’.

Aight, here’s the breakdown of how this piece fits together.
| Structure | Example | Translation |
| Noun + は/が + 少なくない | 問題は少なくない。 | The problems are not few. |
| 我々の仲間は少なくない。 | Our crew is not small. | |
| 証拠は少なくない。 | The evidence is not insignificant. |
Now, let’s get into the guts of it. This pattern is built on an i-adjective, 少ない, which means “few” or “little.” To make any i-adjective negative, you chop off the final い and slap a くない on the end. So, 少ない becomes 少なくない. It’s a smooth move. You just drop a noun in front of it with a は or が particle, and you’re good to go. You’re tellin’ the world that whatever you’re talkin’ about, there’s plenty of it.

Now check these lines, straight from the block, so you know how it’s done.
消えた証人が抱えていた借金は少なくない。
The debt the disappeared witness had was considerable.
去年の抗争で流れた血の量は少なくない。
The amount of blood spilled in last year’s turf war was not insignificant.
ドンが所有する高級車は少なくない。
The number of luxury cars the Don owns is not small.
このファミリーを潰そうとした組織は少なくない。
There have been a good number of organizations that tried to crush this family.
我々の隠れ家には秘密の通路が少なくない。
There are quite a few secret passages in our hideout.
敵のボスが犯したミスは少なくない。
The mistakes the enemy boss has made are quite numerous.
刑務所に入っている仲間は少なくない。
The number of our crew members in prison is not small.
この街で我々に恩がある政治家は少なくない。
There are quite a few politicians in this city who owe us a favor.
ボスが隠している金の量は少なくない。
The amount of money the boss is hiding is considerable.
我々のテリトリーを狙う敵は少なくない。
There are a good number of enemies aiming for our territory.
Aight, that’s the 4-1-1 for today. You learned somethin’. Now go out there and use it. Don’t be a buster. Keep your grammar game tight and your hustle strong.


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