ようがない/ようもない - Grammar Discussion

Grammar Points
#1

there’s no way to
it’s impossible to

Structure

  • Verb[stem] + ようがない ・ ようもない
  • Noun + の + Verb[stem] + ようがない ・ ようもない

:warning: This is not Verb[volitional]

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#2

“It is impossible to explain”

Given translation: 弁解しようがない

Can ~得ない also be used? E.g. 弁解し得ない?

Is my understanding correct in the difference in meaning?

  • 弁解しようがない: It is impossible (too difficult) to explain.
  • 弁解し得ない: It is impossible (not able) to explain.
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#4

Hey @fjdksleiwoqp !

Yes, you could use 〜得ない, but it will change the nuance of the sentence.
弁解のしようがない。There is no way I can explain. (It is impossible to come up with an excuse because I should have known better, and giving an excuse will make matters worse)
弁解し得ない。It is impossible for me to explain. (It is impossible for me to give an excuse because I am struggling internally to talk about this right now. I am very flustered right now)

I hope that this answers your question!

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#5

That is helpful, thank you for the clarification!

#6

The current writeup does not really clarify the distinction between the use of も・が. I imagine it is not really a large difference in meaning, but it may help to have at least one of the examples use the も construction.

#7

How does this differ from っこない？

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#8

bump?

#9

Hey @ggw1776 !

The main difference is that ようがない has the nuance of ‘there is no ‘method’ or ‘manner’ to do (A)’, and っこない has the nuance of ‘it will be impossible to do (A)’. ようがない focuses on the method, while っこない simply states that something is impossible.

We hope that helps!

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