modality N4 common politewritten

〜ではないか — isn't it ~?

〜ではないか・ではないか

Meaning

isn't it ~? / surely ~ / let us ~ — the formal full form of じゃないか: rhetorical confirmation, exclamation, or (with volitional) a call to action

ではないか is the uncontracted, formal counterpart of じゃないか — at home in writing, speeches, and deliberate spoken argument. Beyond rhetorical 'isn't it?', after a volitional it issues a rousing proposal: 頑張がんばろうではないか ('let us do our best!'). The full form lends weight and a slightly literary, declamatory tone.

Key sentence

これこそ理想りそうの社会しゃかいではないか。

Is this not the ideal society?

Formation

Attaches to	Form	Example
Plain form / noun / na-adjective; also volitional + ではないか	… plain + ではないか	正ただしいではないか / 行いこうではないか

Examples

それは明あきらかな矛盾むじゅんではないか。

Is that not a clear contradiction?

ともに前進ぜんしんしようではないか。

Let us move forward together!

彼かれの努力どりょくこそ評価ひょうかすべきではないか。

Surely it is his effort that deserves recognition.

Easily confused with

〜じゃないか Identical function; register is the whole difference. じゃないか is the casual spoken contraction of everyday talk, ではないか the formal/written full form for essays, speeches, and emphatic argument.

Notes

The polite spoken middle ground is ではないですか / ではありませんか, common when softening a rhetorical point in conversation.

See 〜ではないか in real sentences

Jengo shows 〜ではないか the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.

Study it in Jengo

Sources Compiled from published Japanese grammar references. Editorial confidence: medium.

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