modality N1 uncommon written

〜に足らない — not worth ~ing

〜に足らないにたらない

← Back to Unit 50 · Arc 8

Builds on 〜に足る

Meaning

not worth ~ing / not enough to warrant ~ / insignificant — falls short of the level that would make ~ worthwhile

Key sentence

そんな噂うわさは、取とるに足たらない。

A rumor like that isn't worth taking seriously.

Formation

Attaches to	Form	Example
Verb dictionary form (or noun)	V-る + に足たらない	恐おそれるに足たらない / 取とるに足たらない

When: Formal/written and often dismissive; most common in the set phrase 取とるに足たらない 'trivial, negligible'. The affirmative 〜に足たる means 'worth ~ing / sufficient to'.

Examples

彼かれの批判ひはんなど、恐おそれるに足たらない。

His criticism is nothing to be afraid of.

それは議論ぎろんするに足たらない問題もんだいだ。

That's an issue not worth debating.

Easily confused with

〜に値あたいする Exact opposite pole: に値あたいする = 'is worth / deserves ~', に足たらない = 'is not worth / doesn't deserve ~'. 〜ほどのことはない Both downplay, but ほどのことはない is everyday spoken, while に足たらない is formal/written and usually fixed in 取とるに足たらない.

Notes

〜に足たりない is a common everyday variant of 〜に足たらない; the positive base 〜に足たる ('worth ~ing / sufficient') also appears in 信しんじるに足たる '(something) worthy of belief'.

See 〜に足らない in real sentences

Jengo shows 〜に足らない 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.

Back to Path