modality N1 common politewritten
までもない — there is no need to even ~
までもない
Builds on まで
Meaning
- there's no need to even ~ / it's not worth ~ing — the matter is too minor or obvious to bother going that far
Dismisses an action as excessive: the thing is so easy or so clear that taking that step would be overkill.
Key sentence
こんな簡単な計算は、電卓を使うまでもない。
For a calculation this simple, there's no need to even use a calculator.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb (plain, dictionary form) | V(plain) + までもない | 確認するまでもない / 心配するまでもない |
Examples
わざわざ謝りに行くまでもないだろう。
There's surely no need to go all the way over to apologize.
結果は明らかで、議論するまでもない。
The result is obvious — there's no point even discussing it.
Easily confused with
言うまでもない 言うまでもない is this pattern frozen onto 言う ('needless to say'). までもない is the general, productive form — attach it to any verb for 'no need to even ~' (見るまでもない). 必要はない 必要はない plainly states 'there's no need to ~.' までもない adds a nuance of 'it would be going too far / it's beneath bothering with,' often because the matter is obvious or trivial.
See までもない in real sentences
Jengo shows までもない 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 Intermediate Japanese Grammar.