adverbial N3 common casualpolitewritten
とても〜ない — cannot possibly ~
とても〜ない
Builds on とても
Meaning
- cannot possibly ~ / there's no way ~ — とても with a potential negative, expressing impossibility
Key sentence
そんなにたくさん、とても食べられない。
There's no way I can eat that much.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Potential negative (can't ~) | とても + …(ら)れない / …ない | とても信じられない |
Examples
この値段では、とても買えない。
At this price, I couldn't possibly buy it.
一日でとても終わらない量だ。
It's far more than could possibly be finished in a day.
When you can't use it
- This means impossibility, not low degree. It pairs with a potential/ability negative (買えない, 終わらない); reading it as 'not very ~' is the classic learner error.
Easily confused with
See とても〜ない in real sentences
Jengo shows とても〜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 Advanced Japanese Grammar.