adverbial N2 uncommon politewritten
とうてい〜ない — cannot possibly ~
とうてい〜ない
Meaning
- cannot possibly ~ / by no means ~ — no amount of effort would make it work
Key sentence
この量を一日で終わらせるのは、とうてい無理だ。
Finishing this much in one day is utterly impossible.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Adverb | とうてい + negative / impossibility predicate | とうてい信じられない |
Examples
彼の実力には、とうてい及ばない。
I'm by no means a match for his ability.
そんな高い車は、とうてい買えそうにない。
There's no way I could possibly buy a car that expensive.
When you can't use it
- Negative-bound: とうてい must close in a negative or impossibility (〜ない, 無理だ, できない). It can't color a positive predicate (×とうてい間に合う).
Easily confused with
Notes
- 到底 is usually written in kana. Often appears as とうてい〜そうにない 'doesn't look like it could possibly ~'.
See とうてい〜ない in real sentences
Jengo shows とうてい〜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.