modality N3 common casualpolitewritten
〜わけがない — there is no way ~
〜わけがない ・ わけがない
Meaning
- there's no way ~ / it's impossible that ~ — flatly denies that something could be so
Key sentence
そんな高い物が売れるわけがない。
There's no way something that expensive will sell.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| plain verb / i-adjective | V/A(plain) + わけがない | 売れるわけがない / 寒いわけがない |
| na-adjective / noun | na-adj + な + わけがない; N + の／という + わけがない | 好きなわけがない |
Variants
〜わけはない — 〜わけはない is a slightly softer variant.
Examples
練習もしないで、勝てるわけがない。
There's no way we'll win without even practicing.
彼がそんなひどいことを言うわけがない。
There's no way he'd say something so cruel.
三日でこの量を覚えられるわけがない。
There's no way to memorize this much in three days.
Easily confused with
〜はずがない Near-synonyms for 'no way.' わけがない is more emphatic and gut-level; はずがない reasons from a specific expectation. Often interchangeable. わけではない Easy to mix up. わけがない = totally impossible; わけではない = not necessarily / not entirely. The が／では flips the meaning. わけにはいかない Different idiom: わけがない = impossible (it can't be so); わけにはいかない = can't allow oneself to (for social/moral reasons).
See 〜わけがない in real sentences
Jengo shows 〜わけがない the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Advanced Japanese Grammar.