modality N3 uncommon casualpolitewritten
〜ても仕方がない — there's no use ~ing
〜ても仕方がない ・ てもしかたがない
Builds on 〜ても
Meaning
- there's no use ~ing / no point in ~ing / it can't be helped (even if) ~ — doing the action would change nothing, so it's pointless or one should give up on it
Key sentence
今さら後悔しても仕方がない。
There's no use regretting it now.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb (て-form) + も + 仕方がない | V(て) + も + 仕方がない | 悩んでも仕方がない / 急いでも仕方がない |
Examples
起きてしまったことを悔やんでも仕方がない。
It's no use lamenting what's already happened.
彼に聞いても仕方がない。何も知らないのだから。
There's no point asking him — he doesn't know anything anyway.
Easily confused with
〜てしかたがない A real trap — similar shape, different meaning. 〜てしかたがない (no も) = 'can't help feeling ~,' an involuntary emotion/sensation (退屈でしかたがない). 〜ても仕方がない (with も) = 'no use doing ~,' the futility of an action. 仕方がない 仕方がない on its own = 'it can't be helped,' resignation about a situation. 〜ても仕方がない pins that resignation to a specific action — 'even doing X won't help.' 〜ても 〜ても is the base concessive 'even if ~.' 〜ても仕方がない is a fixed extension of it: 'even if you do ~, it's pointless.'
See 〜ても仕方がない in real sentences
Jengo shows 〜ても仕方がない the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in Jengo