How to use ~得ない (e nai): A Streetwise JLPT N2 Grammar Guide

bulletproof car

この防弾ぼうだんガラスがやぶられることは、まずこりない。 This bulletproof glass shattering is simply not gonna happen.

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Read the explanation below to understand the nuance of how this grammar structure is used.

The Lowdown on ~得ない

Listen up. In the streets, you gotta know what’s possible and what’s straight-up fiction. ~得ない is used when you want to say something is absolutely impossible. It ain’t about whether you want to do it or not; it’s about the logical possibility of that event happening. It’s like saying there’s a 0.0% chance.

If a snitch tells you he didn’t talk to the feds but you saw him entering the precinct, you’d use ~得ない to say his story is impossible. It’s firm, it’s cold, and it leaves no room for debate.


The Metaphor

Think of ~得ない like a bulletproof vest. If you’re wearing a high-grade vest and someone tries to take you out with a BB gun, the chances of that pellet piercing your chest are 得ない. It’s a physical and logical impossibility based on the rules of the game. If the math don’t add up, it’s 得ない.


Grammar Conjugation Guide.

Read the table below then use it to conjugate some words you know.

Here is how you strap this grammar onto your verbs so you can start calling out the BS.

Part of SpeechRuleExampleEnglish Translation
Verb (Masu-stem)Remove ~ます + 得ないあります
> ありない
impossible
Verb (Masu-stem)Remove ~ます + 得ないしんじます
> しんない
unbelievable

To keep it 100, you just take the Masu-stem (the part before masu) and slap 得ない on the end. Be careful, though—when it’s positive (it could happen), you can say uru or eru, but when it’s negative (impossible), it is strictly read as “enai.” Don’t be out here sounding like a rookie saying “u-nai” or some nonsense.


Example sentences

Read and master the example sentences below.

こんなヘマをするなんて、おれ組織そしきではかんがない。
Making a blunder like this is unthinkable in my organization.

やつひとりででこのシマを仕切しきるなんて、到底とうていない。
There’s no way that punk can run this turf by himself.

そんな安物やすもの偽札にせさつ通用つうようするはずなど、かんがない。
It’s unthinkable that such cheap counterfeit bills would actually work.

あいつがおれをハメるなんて、まんひとつもこりない。
Him setting me up is something that wouldn’t happen in a million years.

刑務所けいむしょから脱走だっそうするなんて、いま警備けいびではありない。
Escaping from prison is impossible with the current security.

あの臆病者おくびょうものじゅうつなんて、想像そうぞうない。
I can’t even imagine that coward firing a gun.

司法しほう取引とりひきおうじるなんて、おれのプライドがゆるない。
Accepting a plea bargain is something my pride simply cannot permit.

やつがFBIの潜入せんにゅう捜査そうさかんだなんて、しんない事実じじつだ。
The fact that he’s an undercover FBI agent is unbelievable.

こんな大金たいきんいちにちえるなんて、ありないだろう。
There’s no way this much cash disappears in a single day, right?

武器ぶきたずに敵陣てきじんむなんて、ないたたかいだ。
Rushing into enemy territory without a weapon is a fight you cannot win.


Stay dangerous.

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