Difficult to do with 〜がたい
Grammar: Modality, Permission, Obligation, Prohibition » Possibility, ability, difficulty
The auxiliary adjective がたい is used to express that something is “very difficult” or “nearly impossible” to do, often with a nuance of psychological or emotional difficulty.
Usage
The primary purpose of がたい is to convey that an action or state is extremely difficult to achieve, often implying a sense of impossibility or strong resistance, either due to external circumstances or internal feelings.
It is typically used in formal, written, or literary contexts and carries a stronger sense of difficulty compared to similar expressions like にくい or づらい.
The term often reflects the speaker’s subjective judgment, emphasizing emotional or psychological barriers, such as reluctance or inability despite a desire to act.
It’s commonly used with verbs that reflect mental or emotional processes, such as 言う (to say), 信じる (to believe), 忘れる (to forget), or 理解する (to understand), rather than routine physical actions. For instance, 食べがたい (“hard to eat”) is rare, while 理解しがたい (“hard to understand”) is common.
Basic Structure
-
Verb stem + がたい
- 言う (to say) → 言わがたい (difficult to say)
- 忘れる (to forget) → 忘れがたい (difficult to forget)
The kanji form 難い is commonly used, though it may also appear in hiragana as がたい.
Further Reading
- Describing actions as easy or hard - Tae Kim's Japanese grammar guide (guidetojapanese.org)
- がたい (JLPT N3) (bunpro.jp)
- N2文法 「～がたい」 (akanesenseijp.com)
- 【Ｎ３文法】～がたい (mainichi-nonbiri.com)
- 〜がたい(gatai)【JLPT N2の文法 Grammar】 (j-nihongo.com)
