adverbial N1 uncommon politewritten
あながち〜ない — not necessarily ~ / not entirely ~
あながち〜ない
Builds on ない形
Meaning
- not necessarily / not entirely ~ — concedes that it may well be partly true
Key sentence
彼の意見も、あながち間違いとは言えない。
You can't necessarily say his opinion is wrong, either.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Adverb | あながち + negative (often 〜とは言えない / 〜ではない) | あながち嘘ではない |
When: Formal/written; softens a denial to grant that the opposite may hold.
Examples
占いなんて、あながちばかにできない。
Fortune-telling isn't something you can necessarily dismiss.
値段が高いのも、あながち不思議ではない。
It's not entirely surprising that the price is high.
Easily confused with
Notes
- Implies the opposite of the negated claim may actually be true: あながち間違いではない ('not necessarily wrong') hints 'it might well be right'. Compare 必ずしも〜ない, which makes the same 'not always' point more plainly.
See あながち〜ない in real sentences
Jengo shows あながち〜ない the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Advanced Japanese Grammar.